A Lovers Feud
by Alex Destine
Summary: (KIETRO) Brotherhood-centered! - OMG! Would you believe Chapter 22 is (finally) up?
1. Default Chapter

*Ok, you guys know what

*Ok, you guys know what?…. I OWN X-Men Evolution!!!….. no, not really…. But it would be cool though. =~_^= 

Here's a little Pietro & Kitty fic, hope you enjoy.*

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

Edited by: Galry Gabriev

Chapter 1

~~ … ~~= Characters thoughts

It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day; the birds were singing their early morning tune as the sun rose behind the mountains. A few rays of sunlight went through an open window and into the sleeping form of a young boy. He slowly opened his eyes to adjust to the light and greeted the morning in his usual way.

"Oh crap… another Monday." And with that he pulled his pillow over his head and fell back to sleep. Although he usually couldn't stay still in one place long enough he felt that today he really wanted to stay in bed, but that just wouldn't be possible.

"Pietro! Get up! School day!"Todd Tolensky was banging at his door.

"Damn it Todd, beat it! You know I can be ready in five seconds with four to spare!"

"Yeah I know, but Lance wants you to wake up."

"Well tell him not to! Now go away!" and with that Pietro covered his face with his pillow once again and tried to pretend it was a Saturday.

He covered himself with all the blankets he could find but after a while he realized he was simply tossing and turning and wasn't really resting at all. One of the side effects of his powers, once he was awake he just couldn't stand still. He got up and dressed in the blink of an eye and headed downstairs to the Brotherhood's kitchen where, with any luck, Fred had allowed enough food to exist to make himself some breakfast.

~~Why couldn't it be a Saturday? ~~ thought the white haired boy as he saw the mess that covered the kitchen table.

"Morning" he said as he dashed in. Todd greeted him with the usual "hey.." and Fred nodded as he kept eating.

"So you decided to wake up." That was Lance.

"Yeah, thought I'd grant you the pleasure of my presence."

"Thank you very much."

"I know, I'm just too good for you guys" and with that he poured himself a bowl of cereal in less than two seconds. "Hey Lance want to go and do something after school?"

"Can't today. I'm taking a part time job."

~~ He's what?!~~

"You're what?!" said Todd and Fred at the same time. 

"Hey, shut up you two. Do you honestly think the money Mystique gives us is enough to cover everything?"

"So you're gonna be working now?" Pietro asked as he finished his cereal, in 3 seconds.

"Yeah, a few hours after school. No big deal."

"But Lance, what about our quality time as a group?" Todd said with mock sadness. 

Lance just looked at him and rolled his eyes. "I'll live Tolensky … I'll live."

~~ Great, so no Lance.~~

"Hey Todd, how about you? You free? Huh? Are you? Tell me you're free! Come on!"

"No, I'm not." He said trying to stop Pietro from asking so much."I have to study."

~~ Oh yeah right!~~

"If you're going to lie Todd, at least make one up that we will believe." said Lance as he dumped his dishes in the sink.

"Hey yo! I'm serious. I don't usually study but my grades have always been enough to get me by. Lately though I'm flunking everything, and I'm not going to be taking no summer school to repeat a class… I need at least a C+ on my next test or it's bye bye to summer."

~~ Fantastic! Great… Well, one more to try.~~

"Ok Fat boy, how about you? You busy? Are you doing anything? Huh? Answer me!"

"Pietro, shut up!" said Lance as he covered his ears. "Fred has detention."

"How can that be? Why would Mystique give you detention?"

Lance and Todd looked at each other and started snickering while Fred looked completely furious.

"Cause I ate her lunch."

After Fred's confession Lance and Todd burst out laughing while Pietro simply looked at their large friend in disbelief.

"No way…" Pietro couldn't believe it.

"How was I supposed to know it was hers?!" Fred slammed his fist down at the table making the plates and glasses shake.

"Well you know Freddy, Mystique doesn't just leave food on her desk for you, you know." Todd said as he tried to calm his laughing fit since he didn't wish to upset his friend anymore, Lance however didn't mind at all and kept laughing.

"But she didn't have to yell at me!!" was Fred's only argument.

"You Fat boy, are an IDIOT." And with that Pietro unceremoniously dumped himself on the couch.

~~ I can't believe this. I'm going to be so bored, what am I to do now?~~

"Ok! Todd, Fred get your stuff in the car, we're leaving now" said Lance after regaining his composure from the laughing fit. He walked over to Pietro. "You going with us or walking?"

"You drive too slow."

"You know, they almost gave me a speeding ticket last time."

"Too slow." He said and turned around on the couch showing him his back. 

Lance raised an eyebrow at Pietro's laziness, he usually wasn't like this.He waited for his other teammates to get their things and once Fred and Todd were outside in the car Lance turned to the white haired boy. Grabbing him tightly by the shoulders he turned him around so they'd be facing each other.

"What?" was Pietro's only remark, not liking the tight grip Lance had on him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothin' and will you let go of me!"

"And risk you running off? You know I couldn't catch you."

"That's the point."

"What's wrong?" he asked more seriously this time.

"Nothing, everything is fine. I guess I'm a little bored. There's nothing for me to do around here! I finish everything so quickly and now all of you have something to do and I don't and it's driving me crazy!"

Lance blinked a few times. "Is that all?"

"What do you mean 'is that all'?"

"If that's all that's upsetting you why don't you join the basketball team or something? You used to play at your old school, right?"

"Yeah, but if I did I'd have to see Daniels everyday after school and I can't stand his ugly face."

"Well, join something else."

"Like what?"

"Any other sport Pietro, how hard could that be?"

"Not hard at all and that's the problem. Nothing's a challenge anymore, everything is way too easy. I can run faster, jump higher and catch better then anyone in this whole town."

"Well I don't know, why don't you ask around school today and see if there's some club you can join."

Pietro stared at Lance as if he'd say the most ridiculous thing on this planet, then he let out a huge sigh and realized the older boy was probably right.

"I've come this low… to stupid after school clubs?"

"Or you could get an after school JOB." Lance said as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at him.

"Clubs are good."Pietro flashed him an innocent smile.

The next thing they heard was the loud honking of Lance's car and Todd's voice screaming. "Yo! We getting outta here or what?!!"

And with that Lance ran out the door screaming the many things he'd do to anyone who touched his car again.

***************************************************************

"Like, come on! Why can't I go?" Kitty Pryde was not a happy mutant.

"Kitty is not that you can't go I just don't think you'd like it as much." Jean was trying to explain this to Kitty for the 10th time.

"But if you went then I wouldn't be lonely now would I?"

"But I'm NOT going Kitty, and you're not going by yourself. Those parties are not as fun as you think, all they do is talk about football and how great they all think they are."

"I like still don't get why I can't go by myself."

"Because they wont take lightly to a freshman going to one of their parties unless you're accompanied by someone they won't tease." Jean Grey didn't like anyone bothering Kitty simply because she was younger and not part of the "cool" crowd at school. She was just trying to help Kitty avoid trouble but it seemed the young girl wouldn't have it.

"Look, face it girl, you're not welcomed at those gatherings, get over it." That was Rogue, how she could find the right thing to say to always upset Kitty was beyond any ones grasp. 

"Besides Kitty, we should practice more in the Danger Room."

Everyone at the breakfast table made a loud groan of disapproval at Scott's last comment.

"Come on man! We've been practicing there everyday after school!" said Evan as he took more pancakes and drowned them in syrup.

"You need to relax. Maybe YOU should go to that party, huh?" said Kurt as he teleported next to Scott making him jump a little in surprise.

"Like, what a good idea Kurt. You need to relax Scott, do as he says."

"And I suppose YOU wouldn't mind joining Scott while he relaxes?" asked Rogue as she poured herself more orange juice.

"Anything for a friend" she said smiling innocently.

"Right…." 

"Shut up Evan!"

"Ok, break it up you two!" Logan was getting edgy around all this little-kid bickering. He looked at Kitty now. "Now listen kid, you're not going to that party, it's a waste of time for a kid as smart as you." He looked at everyone else now "now all of ya get your things ready or you'll be late for school."

And with that everyone got up to gather books and throw them into the back of Scott's car. Kitty though was still not happy. As she took her backpack she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, she turned around and saw Storm smiling at her.

"Child, what is wrong? Why is it so important for you to go to that party?" Storm hadn't said anything during breakfast; she simply sat there and listened as Kitty tried her best to explain way she 'needed' to go to "Duncan's jock party" as Rogue had so stated.

"Like, there's nothing wrong, you know… I understand that it's better that I don't go to that stupid party. It's just because I'm a freshman it's like I'm like invisible or something."

"You should not let that bother you Kitty" Storm said as they walked over to Scott's car where everyone was waiting.

"Yeah I know, I just like wish I wasn't known as "The Freshman". I wish I was part of their little exclusive group" and with that Kitty phased into the backseat of the car.

"Do not worry about them Kitty, they're not worth the effort" she now turned to the rest of the kids. "Alright children, have a good day," she said as she waved at her nephew and the rest of the X-men.

"Sure will Auntie O!"screamed Evan as he and Kurt were wrestling over something or other.

"Would you two knock it off!… Oh, sure thing Storm, later" said Scott as he tried to keep his two friends from playing too rough in the backseat of his car.

Jean and Rouge said their goodbyes as well, but Kitty was still sulking and paying no attention to the rest of the world. 

~~ Like, it's almost as if I didn't exist, and when other people DO notice me it's to tell me how much I don't fit into their 'cool crowd'~~

Kitty Pryde was not at all an outsider, she was actually quite popular among her peers, but it wasn't their support she needed. She wanted to be with the Cool Seniors, the older crowd and, by her reasoning, more mature and sophisticated. Hanging around Scott was ok, and even being with Jean was cool since although a junior the young redhead was far more popular among the football players then anyone she knew. But Kitty Pryde wanted to fit in by herself, not because she was someone else's friend… she needed to work on that.

***********************************************************

Pietro was BORED… such a small word could not possible do justice to every single emotion that was cruising inside the young boy at the moment. To know he could be doing over a 1000 different things and instead simply sitting there, hearing a VERY sleep provoking speech of 'who-knows-what' the teacher was talking about now.

~~I could run out of the classroom, buy a burger, eat it and come back before any one notices I'm gone…~~ 

The thought was tempting, but the huge gust of wind that such speed would create would be enough to get everyone's attention and Mystique had already warned him that such displays of power while inside the school were dangerous.

He dismissed the idea and prayed he'd fall asleep again, but that idea was suddenly taken away from him when by chance he heard his teachers' next words.

"Perhaps Mr. Maximoff would like to do a small summery of what we've been talking about this past half hour."

~~ I Hate You. ~~

"Well sir, I'd love to but… I was deep in thought over something you've said earlier."

"And what would that be, Mr. Maximoff?"

"Umh… the first… thing?"

Pietro could hear the class laughing softly at his predicament. He knew for a fact he wasn't the only student falling a sleep, why did his teacher, Mr. Smith have to pick on him? 

Pietro was sitting right in the center of the classroom, in front of him he could see the X-men's blue-elf… Kurt, was it? Now Kurt wasn't laughing, he was only smiling, but it wasn't a taunting smile it was more of an 'I'm-sorry-this-is-happening-to-you-hope-it's-over-soon-for-your-sake' type of smile. Pietro hated him anyway.

He looked to the back of the room and saw Rogue sitting in a corner. She really did look completely apart from everything and everyone. She wasn't even paying attention to the 'Pietro abuse' that was going on. He appreciated that, but the fact that she switched sides on them still hurt.

Pietro was all too happy when the bell rang and that meant that the teacher would have to back off, until tomorrow that is. Now they were all heading to lunch so Pietro reached his locker in less then two seconds and started to wait for the rest of the Brotherhood to arrive.

He tried to keep himself busy by looking at all the idiotic people that walked down the hall. A bunch of stupid freshmen guys talking so loud pretending they were 'cool' or something and another bunch of jocks showing off as usual. He remembered when he used to be one of those 'jocks', he kinda liked it. Being a key player in the basketball team at his old school always made him feel important and accepted, there wasn't a party he wasn't invited to or a girl that didn't secretly have a crush on him. Those were the days… now though, now things were different.

He saw a group of cheerleaders walk by, giggling insanely as they passed him. He noticed a few of them were looking at him, probably joking at his expense, he thought. They hadn't gone very far yet when he noticed from the corner of his eye that the others were pushing one of the girls in his direction. Now sure, Pietro Maximoff knew how to handle himself around a girl but he realized that this was going to be the first time a girl would approached him at Bayville, he was just a tad nervous, not that he'd ever admit it.

"Hello there, name's Mallory." This girl was actually pretty. She had long, curly, reddish hair; and the green eyes that always seem to accompany such style.

"Hey…may I help you with anything?" Pietro was trying his best not to sound desperate or nervous, a date with a cheerleader was exactly what he needed to get out of this boredom and maybe back to the old life style he left behind in his previews school. 

"Well… you see… my friends and I… we were thinking…"

~~Don't do that, you might hurt yourself… oh thank god she's not a telepath! ~~

Pietro tried not to smile as the girl continued.

"That someone as cute as you might be interested in helping us by doing a small performance."

"Umh, I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"You see, the cheerleading club needs more funds for our activities so Principal Darkholme suggested we run a low budget play. If it goes well, it might also participate against plays from other schools in a competition at the end of the month. Now we're looking for really cute actors to help us." She smiled sweetly at him as she waited for the white haired boy to answer.

Pietro didn't know what to say… he guessed he could do it, plays weren't really his style but it wasn't as if he had anything else better to do. 

"Sure, I'd do anything for you" he said as he gave her his most 'prince charming' type of smile. "Only, I don't suppose I could get the male lead, now could I?" 

~~ If you're going to do something, do it BIG! ~~

"I'm sure I can work something out…" she said as she played with her hair and with that she turned around and headed back to her group of giggling cheerleaders. "Later" she said.

"Yeah, later." Pietro couldn't believe it, something to do!! Finally!

"Did we miss the fan club meeting?" 

"Shut up Todd! … hey, how long have you guys been there?"

Lance leaned against the lockers as he answered, "Not too long, we just thought we'd give you a chance to finish showing off."

"Lance! As if I'd ever do that!" 

"What did she want anyway?" Todd didn't like cheerleaders. For him they were simply the girl version of the jocks and even though they didn't punch or kick him they always found some insult to throw his way.

"Seems there's going to be a play soon."

"Another one? Didn't they just have a Vampire one not too long ago?"

"Look Todd, I'm not in charge of when they give plays at this stupid school, ok? So anyway, they're looking for actors and she wanted me to be one of them."

"Don't they usually post signs around the school for that?"

Pietro just shrugged. "Maybe they will if they need extras."

"So what's the title of the play?" asked Lance

"I don't know."

"Well, what is it about?"

"I don't know."

"And you're acting in it?!?!?!"

"Lance! All I know is that I'm the male lead and that I finally have something to do aside from sitting at home and watching Fred eat everything in sight!"

"Fine, whatever… suggestion though, try to figure out what you're acting in before you do anything stupid."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever… say, where IS Fred?"

They suddenly felt the ground beneath them tremble, Todd and Pietro looked up to Lance with angry stares.

"Lance! Cut that out!" shouted Todd as he grabbed Pietros arm for support.

"It's not me! Why you always blame me?!"

Pietro and Todd stared at him some more.

"Ok, ok… I can see WHY you'd think it's me… but it's NOT!"

The trembling was getting stronger and after a few moments they realized where it was coming from. Fred was running toward them.

"Sorry… I'm… late…" said the exhausted boy.

"Yeah well, Freddy you didn't have to run you know, it's dangerous for the rest of humanity when you do that" said Pietro as he made sure Todd wasn't going to fall or anything.

"But, we're late for lunch! We can't be late for lunch!" and with that Fred took off running again making a few students worry about earthquakes.

"It's not like the Meatloaf is going to grow legs and walk away…" Todd scoffed as the rest of the Brotherhood went after their large friend.

"Actually Todd, I wouldn't be surprised if that happened." It always amused Pietro the many topics that could be made over meatloaf.

Lance didn't say anything, he simply walked behind his two younger teammates and smiled at the crazy and most of the time unreasonable topics they came up with.

***********************************************************

"Like, what is this?"

"Thought you knew by now Kitty… nobody knows!" Kurt laughed a bit at the grossed out look on Kitty's face over the meatloaf.

"They actually expect us to eat this stuff?" Rogue wasn't very happy either.

"Like, it's totally gross, I don't even know what's in there…" Kitty saw the evil look on Evan's face and knew a long list of VERY disgusting stuff was going to come out of his mouth. "And I don't WANT to know either!!" 

That seemed to shut him up for now. Scott joined them soon after and they began their discussion of the many uses for meatloaf when Jean finally appeared.

"Hey Jean, where were you? You missed the best ideas for meatloaf I've ever heard!" Kurt was about to demonstrate a few when Jean stopped him.

"It's alright Kurt, I can read your mind… I know."

"Aww, you're no fun" and with that he sat down and continued make ideas with Evan.

"But like, where were you? You're like never late."

"Well Kitty, Duncan wanted to talk to me about something. That's all."

"Was it about the party? Cause if it was…"

"No Kitty, it WASN'T." Jean didn't sound mean or upset, simply trying to make it clear to the young Pryde girl. "It was about this play the cheerleader club is making, he wanted me to try out."

"Wow! That's like totally cool! Are you going after school?"

"No, I wasn't thinking about going at all."

"But like, WHY?" Kitty couldn't believe it! Here she was, Jean Grey, beautiful, smart, funny, popular, a JUNIOR!! She had everything! She got asked to all the parties and was always first picked by basically all the football players. Why didn't she enjoy it the way Kitty thought she should. Didn't she know that not everyone was as lucky as she was?

"I don't know Kitty, I don't feel like being in a play right now. It's too much work and I have enough of that between homework and the school paper… not to mention our 'other' activities."

Yep, being an X-men was also time consuming, but Kitty never thought that as an excuse to not party with the 'cool' kids.

"Besides, it's probably something stupid. We all know what the cheerleading squad in this is school is capable of." 

~~ Rogue is such an optimist ~~ Kitty thought as she watch the Goth girl eating her meatloaf.

Jean laughed a bit, then send a message Kitty's way.

~~ I know Rogue isn't a very cheerful person, but she's probably right you know. ~~

Kitty looked at Jean and smiled, still… if the cheerleading club was doing it then this was the perfect opportunity to do something with the 'in' crowd.

"Would you mind if I like tried out? I probably wont get any special role you know, but I'd like to try."

Scott and Jean looked at each other, they were probably communicating mentally. Rogue elbowed her a bit trying to get her attention.

"You sure you want to do that?"

"Like, sure! I'd at least like to try you know."

"Good luck" Rogue's tone was very sarcastic as she said this, which lead to Kitty's next question.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it Pryde, all those cheerleaders. What good female role is going to be vacant."

"Well, I just want to go and check it out. It's not important if I don't get picked."

Thanks to Jean's coaxing, Scott finally agreed and told her once it was over all she had to do was call the mansion and Kurt would teleport to the school to get her back.

~~ Finally! Something I can do with the seniors! I can't wait! ~~

***********************************************************

End chapter 1

Don't worry… there'll be more soon… ^_^


	2. A Lovers Feud part 2

A Lovers Feud

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

Chapter 2

"Stupid, Stupid!… STUPID!!!" The school day was over and everyone was getting ready to go home, however forPietro Maximoff a dark cloud had presented itself on his last class for the day. Because of that he was now having fun banging on a helpless locker door while Lance, Todd and Fred watched from a safe distance.

After a few moments of silence Todd dared ask what was on every ones minds.

"You think he's over it?"

"…..… STUPID!!!!!!" was screamed loud and clear across the hallway making a few of the students cringe.

"Not yet Todd, give him a few minutes." Lance was again leaning against the lockers as they waited for Pietro's temper to calm down. The young sophomore had received a less that pleasant grade on a test he had commented was a 'breeze' and being the perfectionist that he was the only solution to his problem was to beat up on a few lockers.

"Hey Lance, what grade did he get?" Fred was beginning to get worried about his friend.

"I don't know, he was banging lockers and cursing already when I got here."

"Think we should go and fetch him?"

"……… STUPID!!!!"

"Not quite yet…"

"But yo! Lance, we have to go! I have to study remember. I need to get home as soon as possible so I can learn what they've been talking about during the last two weeks."

"Todd, if you wanted to pass the class you shouldn't have waited till the last possible moment to study."

"My, my… aren't we getting responsible. Next thing you know you'll be telling me to brush my teeth before bed."

"Wouldn't kill ya either…" said Fred as he took a bit of some chocolate bar he had been saving.

"Shut up Freddy!"

"The two of you be quiet. What about me? I'm going to be late on my first day at my part time job! You think I want to be here. Now just wait a while to see if … did you hear that?"

Both Todd and Fred looked around carefully, not daring to move a muscle.

"What you hear Lance?"

"Nothing…"

"Huh, so that means…?"

"That Pietro stopped."

"HEY GUYS, WHAT YA DOING HUH?!!? LET ME JOIN! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE UP TO!"

"And now he started again…" Todd didn't even bother to look at him, they all knew Pietro had mood swings that were as fast as he was.

Lance placed himself in front of Pietro to make sure he had his teammate's complete attention. 

"PIETRO, listen to me! Fred will be in detention for a while and I'm driving Todd back home and then heading to my job. What are you doing? You going back home with us?"

"Nah, are you kidding? I have to go to the practices for that play. Did you forget already?"

"Yeah I remember, the play without title…"

"IT'S GOT A TITLE!" Pietro crossed his arms over his chest as he defended his new hobby against Lance's criticisms. "… I just don't know it yet."

"Well good luck and whatever, now we have to go!" Todd was tugging at Lance's arm for him to move faster. He really needed to study. 

"Ok ,ok… Todd let go of me! Watch yourself Pietro and try not to fight, huh? Not without me around." 

"What's the matter Lance boy, think I can't handle myself?" Pietro smirked. 

"Nope, not that at all… just watching out for the poor losers you fight against…. Ouch! Todd QUIT IT!… we're leaving now!"

"Bye bye!" Pietro waved as his two friends practically ran to the parking lot.

"Just the two of us now, hey Fat boy?"

"Yep, say Pietro, why were you so upset? I mean, you must've gotten a pretty BAD grade to be screaming and kicking like a baby the way you were back there… Pietro?… Pietro?!"

Once in the parking lot Todd suddenly stopped dead on his tracks and slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. Lance just looked at him amused and smiled to himself.

"Did you forget something Todd, we can go back and pick it up if you want."

"No, it's not that. I forgot to remind Fred that he shouldn't talk about grades around Pietro for a while you know…"

"Come on, Freddy knows better then that."

Lance and Todd kept walking to the car when they suddenly heard a faint yet familiar sound.

"…. Stupid!!!…"

They simply looked at each other and ran the rest of the way to the car.

***********************************************************

Kitty Pryde was late for the audition, she simply couldn't find the right room. This whole play thing was a mystery to everyone she asked for directions. She finally found it though, a room full of cheerleaders and a few jocks, most of the guys there weren't on the football team but they were still popular one way or another. 

She walked over to one of the girls to ask information about this play, it didn't go exactly as she had planned it.

"Who are you?" asked the girl who was apparently also the director.

"I'm Kitty Pryde. Heard you were doing a play and I wanted to try out."

"Sorry, full cast. Maybe next time sweetie."

"But how can you choose the cast if you haven't done auditions yet?"

"Listen kid, we're trying to work here, alright. Let me help you find someone that will guide you, ok? Duncan! A little help here!"

The huge football player known as Duncan Matthews walked over to where Kitty was, he knew what to do. He had to get rid of the unwanted people.

~~ Oh great, I'm going to be pulled out by this huge gorilla! I don't think so. ~~

As they walked to the door Kitty started to talk to him.

"So, hey… like, you're the famous Duncan! I'm like so happy to finally meet you!"

Duncan stopped for a while, surprised at Kitty's charming attitude toward the person who was throwing her out. 

"How you know me?"

"Like, Jean talks about you all the time, you know!"

~~ I don't have to say it's usually followed by an insult, now do I? ~~

"Jean, Jean Grey? You're the freshman that always hangs around with her?"

"Yep, like that's me! You told Jean about this play didn't you? Jean was too busy so she told me to try out in her place. Like, Jean would be so happy if I at least got a small part on it you know."

"Right!… sure, let me just talk to one of those girls over there,… hey, does Jean really talk about me all the time?"

"Like totally! I feel like I already know you!"

"Right, right… let me see what I can do."

~~ Jean, may you one day forgive me… ~~

Duncan was trying his best to convince the 'director' that Kitty would be a good choice. After much coaxing and simply just to get Duncan off her case, the girl named Claudia agreed to let the young freshman audition for a part.

"Let her be the female lead!" Duncan was glad he was finally getting his way. 

"Are you insane? A freshman! Besides, Mallory is going to be our female lead!" said the director giving Duncan the evil eye. "Mallory! Come here please! … Our dear friend Duncan 'needs' this freshman on the play, he wants her to have the lead."

Mallory's eyes grew wide for a moment, then they settled for the evil eye as well.

"Duncan, sweetie… what are you thinking?" Mallory placed her hands on her hips as she stared at the over-seized football player.

"Ok, ok! I can take a hint!… just give her something… please."

"I don't think I want this little girl in our play" said Mallory looking at their director.

Claudia didn't say anything for a while,she had to figure out a way to make both Mallory and Duncan happy. After what seemed like forever Claudia finally came up with the perfect solution. 

"Ok Duncan, we'll let her try out for the female lead. Now give the script to the little girl and tell her to be ready."

"Alright!" Duncan grabbed the pieces of paper and headed toward the now very nervous Kitty.

"Claudia! What did you just do?" Needless to say, Malloy was furious.

"Relax. We'll always choose you. She'll be your understudy, now go practice your lines!"

"Fine!…"

Duncan walked over to Kitty to give her the good news.

"Like, NO WAY! The female lead? There most be some mistake…" Kitty was so happy right now, she could pop!

"Nope, Duncan Matthews always delivers. Make sure you tell Jean that."

"Oh, sure will! 'Duncan Matthews always delivers.' Yep, got it!" she couldn't believe it!

*******************************************************

Now Pietro was really late and all because Fred had reminded him the reason why he was banging those lockers. 

~~ Stupid Fat boy! … I was NOT screaming and kicking like a baby!! ~~ Pietro thought as he dash through Bayville's hallways. 

Finally he got to the room where the play was being practiced. It was full of cheerleaders, no surprise there. A few jocks were there too but not too many, he figured most of the 'manly' football players wouldn't be caught dead in a play. However, of the few guys that were present he saw that most of them were what you'd call popular. Presidents of other clubs or all around rich little kids that made Pietro want to puke, still the fact that he had been asked here as well meant he was moving up in the Bayville High social scale.

And then he saw him, Duncan Matthews. Not his favorite person. It was always him who managed to find something insulting to say toward Lance or Fred; and the fact that he and his friends constantly picked on Todd was one of the main reasons he wanted to punch his lights out.

But Pietro knew he had to find a way to control himself. If he fought Duncan here he couldn't be in the play and that meant going home after school to do his homework in 5 seconds and then sit on the couch and stare into the ever so slow moving clock as it ticked-tocked time and his sanity away.

~~ Not happening! ~~

And as if seeing him wasn't bad enough, he saw who he was with. 

~~ No way… it can't be who I think it is. ~~

'Hyperactive bouncy' light-brown ponytail, 'tooth-decaying sweet' pink sweater, and the annoying repetitive sounds of: 'like…' 'whatever…' & 'you know…'

~~ It's HER! … An X-freak! ~~

Could Pietro Maximoff handle being in a room with those two and not let sarcasm or his temper get the best of him? … Not likely.

Luckily he hadn't made three steps into the room when he heard Mallory crying out to him.

"There you are! Finally our male lead has arrived." Mallory ran to his side and grabbed his arm as she pulled him toward Claudia. "He's here now, not to worry."

"Yeah, sorry I'm late. Couldn't find the place." Pietro was trying to get rid of the very tight grip this cheerleader had on him.

Mallory pulled on his arm once more to signal him to get closer to her, as he did she placed her mouth very close to his ear and whispered the troubles she had to go through.

"You don't know how hard it was for me to convince Claudia to let you have the lead. There were like a million guys who wanted that role!"

Pietro looked around and noticed that he was indeed getting dirty looks from most of the guys in that room.

~~ HA! Losers! I'm the best! Me! Meeeeee! ~~

"Pietro… PIETRO!" Claudia hit him on the head with the script.

"Hey! Oh sorry… spaced out. Well I'm here now right. That the important thing, I'm here and I'm going to play the LEAD!"

~~ Losers! HAHA! ~~

"Yeah well… learn your lines first Maximoff, then we'll talk." Claudia was still skeptical.

"I can memorize this whole script in five minutes… maybe less."

"Glad to hear it, cause both you and Mallory have a lot of lines together."

"Yeah, guess we'll have to practice a lot of hours after school, huh Pietro?" Mallory was practically clinging to his arm now.

"Yeah, guess we will." Oh, the looks ofdeath glares from most of the other guys in the room were enough to keep Pietro happy for a long while.

Kitty Pryde was busy talking to Duncan,… of all people. For now he was the only one there who knew of her existence, but that was only because he saw her as a free ticket toward Jean.

"Like, I knew it was too good to be true. I mean, the understudy?! What are the chances of Mallory suddenly getting sick anyway!"

"Hey, your acting was pretty good. Most of the guys here say you were even better then Mallory." Duncan said as he played around with a football.

"Yeah but like, big surprise! Didn't get the part… guess understudy is like still good, right?"

"Of course it is, you still have to come to practices you know. In case something does happen you have to be just as prepared as Mallory will be. Say,… maybe Jean could come by too. You know, to help you practice here. I could help too you know!"

"Umh… right, of course. I'd have to ask her."

Kitty Pryde then saw light invading the small air-conditioned room as the door was opened. A young boy walked in, he looked familiar but the light behind him didn't let her focus too much on him. Once the door closed she saw who it was. 

~~ No way… it can't be who I think it is. ~~

'Short white hair, except for those two annoying long bangs that were placed neatly on the back of his head. Good quality (you might even say expensive) brown shirt, and a pose that just screamed 'I'm way better then you, worship me now!'

~~ It's HIM! … From like, The BROTHERHOOD! ~~

And he was looking directly at Kitty Pryde. That is until she heard Mallory scream his name and run up to him. She dragged him and pulled as if she had been desperate for something. It was clear on Pietro's face that he had not been expecting this type of welcome. He was then dragged over to the play-god Claudia and from there on it was easy to over hear.

~~ So like, HE's the male lead? Makes me glad I'm the understudy. ~~

Pietro took a chance when Mallory was called by one of her fellow cheerleaders to place a bit of distance between them. That girl was starting to get to his nerves, but he thought he was masking it all rather well. He sat down and turned the page rapidly one after the other. To anyone else it might've seen as if he was bored and just playing with the papers, but he was in fact reading them. He could've read them faster, but the movement would've been too obvious. 

Once he was done reading the whole scripthe went back to look for all the scenes where he had to appear. 

~~ I'm practically on every page! And so is Mallory… who wrote this crap! ~~

The whole play basically consisted of the usual hackneyed idea of a young couple that fell in love but couldn't be together for whatever reason. Pietro had lost interest after the first nanosecond. 

~~ You mean I have to act out all this romantic nonsense in front of an audience! An audience that would most likely have Mystique in it! She is the Principal, after all… no way! I don't think so. ~~

"There's no way I'm doing this stuff!"

"Like, thank god!"

Pietro looked up. He realized he had said his last thoughts out loud, but who had answered them? And what did that person mean by 'thank god' anyway?!? He looked up and right into the blue eyes of one X-freak.

"You have something to say geek?"

"Umm, no like… never mind, ok?"

"Aww, not so tough without your gang to back you up?"

"Hey, I don't need to be with them all the time you know… I can handle myself."

"Really, you don't say? Well, you're doing a fine job of that right now, aren't you? Well, if you have something to say to me kitty-cat say it now, unless you want to wait till we meet with your babysitter to tell me."

She was so mad! She was not a little kid and she could stand up to any Brotherhood member any day!

"Like, I said 'Thank God' because any play that doesn't have you in it is sure to go way better!"

Pietro stopped what he was doing and looked at her for a while. He hadn't expected her to answer, but now that she did it meant he had to answer back.

"Have you read this stupid script? I couldn't even find a plot! I'm too good for this junk!

"Maybe like, the play needs some work, but that's not the problem. You just can't do it! You can't do this play!"

~~ What did she say?!? ~~

~~ What did I say?!? ~~

"WhatdoyoumeanIcan'tdothisstupidplay?!" Pietro was mad now.

Kitty blinked a few times.

"Huh?"

"What. Do. You. Mean. I. Can't. Do. This. Stupid. Play?!"

"Oh, now I understand you… like, how can you ask that? If you could do it you wouldn't be running away from it! Afraid your Brotherhood friends might laugh at you?" 

Pietro wanted so much to put his hands on that small delicate neck of hers and see just who was afraid. But he calmed himself. After all, he had just been issued a challenge. 

"Fine, you little X-freak. I'll stay and prove to you that I'm better then anyone in this stupid play!"

"Like, whatever… do what you want." 

Just then Pietro felt his arm being tucked again. Oh yes, he had almost forgotten Mallory. The redhead was holding to Pietro and starring right into Kitty's soul.

"You don't need to be here anymore Freshman. You can practice your lines back in your place now."

"I'd rather practice here, thank you." As if anyone was going to tell Kitty Pryde to go!

"Come on Pietro! We should practice for a while."

"Yeah, we want this play to be PERFECT now, don't we?" as Mallory pulled Pietro back to the front of the room he turned around and shouted at Kitty.

"See you later, FRESHMAN!"

If looks could really kill, well… Kitty definitely wouldn't have been Pietro's first death.

~~ I hate him!! I'm leaving now, but I'll come back tomorrow and I'll prove I can do this better then Mallory ever could! ~~

And with that a very angry Kitty Pryde walked out. 

*******************************************************

Pietro Maximoff was slouching off on his bed looking back on the day's events. He held the, as of right now, EVIL script and looked at its pages one more time. It didn't matter how many times he read it over it all still looked stupid. Definitely all those love scenes needed some re-writing.

~~ Most of my lines are completely stupid! If they were 'romantic' type of stupid, I wouldn't mind since that was the whole idea of this play, but it's not romantic at all… it's just… STUPID! ~~

Pietro's thoughts were interruptedby a loud knock on his door.

"There's no one here!" he yelled out.

"Ha ha! Very funny Pietro. May I come in?"

"Oh my… we're asking and everything now? How respectful! Whatever Lance, get in here already."

Lance leaned against the door as he looked at the young speed-demon. 

"Well you know, have to practice. Now that I have a job I just can't treat a customer the way I treat you losers around here."

"Ah! So your evil plan has been discovered. We're nothing more but your puppets and practice dummies!"

"That's right Pietro, that's about it."

"You need anything?"

"Just wondering why you're up here. You'd usually be teasing Todd or grabbing Fred's food right before he placed it in his mouth."

"Thought I'd make you guys sufferer without my presence for a while. But if you really miss me…"

"Everything ok at that play?"

"Well, as 'ok' as that stupid thing is ever going to get."

"You don't like it?"

" It's amazing my lack of vocabulary when I have to describe that play. The only word that comes to mind is STUPID. Nothing else does it justice."

"Then quit."

"Aaaaaahh…Not that simple Lance boy. It's personal now."

"… Because?"

"Someone said I couldn't do it, and I must prove that someone wrong!"

"And that someone is?…"

"Umh,… no one!" Pietro immediately got up and headed toward the kitchen.

"Hey, wait up. Who was it Pietro?" Lance ran down the stairs to catch up to his teammate who was already making himself a sandwich.

"No one important!" he needed to distract Lance from this subject. If he told Lance that there was an X-freak involved he'd want to do something about it that would involve the entire Brotherhood. He was going to finish that stupid play by himself! He turned to Todd who was still busy studying for his test.

"Hey Todd, guess what? You can hang around Bayville after school for a while. Turns out Duncan is involved with this whole play thing. He'll be busy for at least a few weeks."

"Hum… what?" he looked up from the book he was practically falling a sleep on. "Ok, good Pietro."

"Oh God, you're not still studying, are you?… here, let me help you."

Pietro took the book from a very sleepy Todd and read it over in three seconds. 

"This stuff is easy! I'll write you a summery so you'll study only that. It'll be easier for you."

"Sure~yawn~ whatever you say…"

"So was it Duncan?" Lance was still standing near the stairs waiting for Pietro to answer him.

"What?"

"Did Duncan say you couldn't do the play?" the patience Lance had developed for these three was surely going to get him a place in heaven.

"Yeah… yeah it was Duncan. Stupid Duncan. I'll show him, don't worry." He finished the summery for Todd and then took his sandwich and headed to his room again.

"I have homework!" he screamed so no one would bother him.

As he shut his door and locked it he realized he had some re-writing to do.

*******************************************************

"Who wrote this stuff?" Rogue asked as she and Kitty headed toward where they were going to practice the play. Rogue looked over the pages one more time and made a very disgusted face. 

"I know it was supposed to be low-budget but this is ridiculous."

"I know, it's like someone had to be PAYED to write that bad."

"You sure you still want to do this?"

"Sure, it's not like I'll be 'doing' anything anyway. I'm the understudy, remember? I just want to be there, you know. Let them get to know me as more then just 'the freshman'."

"Whatever, sounds like a waste of time to me. I mean, who's going to go to that stupid play?"

"Guess anyone whose got a crush on any of the cheerleaders, or anyone the jocks threaten to kill if they don't go." Kitty just shrugged as she said this, that's the way things worked with them.

"I see, they got their bases covered. Sneaky monsters."

"Well, like here we are. Thanks for walking with me Rogue, I'll call to the mansion for Kurt to come pick me up, alright?"

"Don't you want me to be with you?"

"Nah, it's ok. I'm like totally fine. Besides, I don't think you want to stay and listen to them practicing this, cause it's either that or they'll talk endlessly about nail polish."

"Well, that explains it, now we know what they've been inhaling." Rogue handed her back the script. "Good luck." And with that Rogue turned around and left Kitty in the empty hallway.

~~ Like no way I want her in here. If she saw Pietro she'd like, tell Scott and Jean and they'd never let me stay. ~~ 

As Kitty opened the door she noticed there were a lot less people today. Once the lead male had been chosen it seemed most of the guys stopped being interested.

Duncan was still there though, when he saw her come in he immediately flashed her a warm smile, but he kept looking behind her. When he realized Jean wasn't coming along with the young freshman his smile faded and he sat back down.

~~ Gee, how friendly… oh well. ~~

Kitty sat down and started to read over the script once more.

~~ Like GOD!… this is so stupid! ~~

She noticed Claudia was keeping busy giving instructions for the stage, Duncan was just sitting there and Pietro was sitting as far away from her as possible also reading his script. She knew he was posing, with his speed he could've had all that memorized in a flash. After a while she saw him get up and walk toward Claudia who looked ready to murder the poor person in charge of effects. She couldn't hear what he said, but she heard what she answered him.

"Fine, just so long as it goes with the story. Make sure you give a copy to the understudy."

Pietro was looking at Kitty now. They stared at each other for a while, then she saw him sigh as if in defeat and walked toward her. She quickly looked down at her script as if it were the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen.

"Hey…"

"Yeah, like what do you want?" she said a bit scarred to look up.

"Don't they teach you X-geeks some manners? The least you could do is look at me."

Kitty stopped playing with her script and looked up at Pietro's blue eyes.

"What is it?"

"Heard you were Mallory's understudy. That's right?"

"Yeah, so what?" she didn't like talking to Pietro much, he made her feel nervous.

"Well, I was reading over this script and basically… it sucks! And if I'm going to be in this play then there're some changes I'm going to have to do."

Kitty just looked at him in surprise and blinked a few times.

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Most of the play goes around the main characters dialogues, I'm changing all that. Claudia said that as the understudy you had to learn the new version as well."

Pietro grabbed the script Kitty had on her lap and sat down next to her and began writing his new version of the play.

"Hey! Like, wait a minute! Who gave you permission to just re-do the play? You're going to change everything."

"Would you hold on a minute. It's still the same romantic nonsense you girls seem to love so much, but give me a break, did you even READ the whole script? Most of the time it wasn't even coherent!"

~~ He's right, it's like a three year old written it. ~~

"You would think they PAYED for someone to write that bad." Pietro said as he kept writing at lighting speed on her script.

Kitty looked at him for a while, "Yeah, I thought about that…" she smiled at him then, not that she was expecting him to return the same gesture but it surprised her when he stopped writing and just looked at her. She was wondering if he was going to say something when suddenly Claudia's loud director voice was heard all over the place. Most of the students jumped a bit in surprise but Pietro almost leaped twice as far.

"What?!… What?"

"Relax Maximoff,… listen up! We have to start rehearsing now. Mallory will be late since we have a basketball game this weekend and the cheerleaders have to practice their routine."

"And how are we supposed to rehearse then?!" Pietro stood crossing his arms around his chest. Claudia just looked at him.

"With the understudy Pietro." She took her copy of the script and rolled it to make it into a megaphone and screamed at him again. "THE UNDERSTUDY!!!!"

Pietro pretended to clear his hears for a while.

"Would you mind repeating that, don't think Darkholme heard you."

Kitty had to smile. It was all rather funny, most of the people in the room who were working on the stage also laughed a bit.

"Maximoff, Pryde! Get here now!" Claudia was all business.

As they walked toward Claudia, Kitty was starting to feel a bit nervous again. It wasn't just the acting but the fact that Pietro was the one acting with her. Now she was definitely glad Rogue wasn't with her, she could just imagine her friend sitting at the edge of her seat starring at them,… how embarrassing!

Pietro didn't like this. He was feeling weird. He had never felt like that before, he suddenly realized he was nervous! Why was he nervous?! As if acting was that hard! But he knew that practically every scene that had both lead roles together were romantic and somehow doing that… even if it WAS pretending, with an X-men! He couldn't quite deal with that.

"Ok, let's start with the first scene where your characters meet, ok? That'd be in page three." 

"Umh, ok."

"Sure."

~~ What in the world am I doing? Why am I nervous over this stupid thing!? Honestly Maximoff! Get it together! ~~ Pietro was only glad Kitty wasn't a telepath.

He took a big breath and turned around facing Kitty. He took her hands in his and started reciting the lines he knew by now.

"What a charming and beautiful woman you are… I could not stay still much longer from where I was…because I needed to know if you would give me the honor of knowing your name… Or perhaps that should remain a mystery to me, oh angel that has come down from the heavens."

Pietro was standing very close to Kitty now, both starring at each other's blue eyes. She felt Pietro's grip on her hands tighten, almost like he was trying to show her how much he meant those words, the way true lovers do in the movies.

She felt him hold her hands slightly tighter now, his stare deepening as he stepped closer to her. Was Pietro going to KISS her?! She could feel his warm breath on her neck as he was about to whisper more sweet words of love close to her ear.

"Kitty, your line…"

~That didn't sound very romantic~

"Huh? …"

"Kitty, say your line…" 

Kitty, who was still in a daze, simply blinked a few times. 

"What?…"

"You gotta say your lines Kitty!" cried an exasperated Pietro

"CUT!!!!!!" Claudia screamed using her fabulous 'rolled-script' Megaphone.

"You know Pryde, this is about the time when you say your lines…" 

Kitty's face flushed a bright crimson as she realized they were all expecting her to say something. She had been caught so off guard by Pietro. He was a great actor, she almost believed what he was saying was for real.

"Umh, … I haven't read the new script yet!" ~~ Yeah… YEAH! That's right. They can't blame me! ~~

"That's why you were supposed to READ from it…" Pietro was standing before her with an 'I'm-not-amused' look on his face and his arms crossed across his chest. Kitty now named that pose the 'I'm annoyed stance'. Seemed Pietro was rather good at it too.

"Like, sorry… I'll read from it now."

"Ok, from the top! Try to act it out Pryde." Claudia said as she stepped back.

Kitty was reading the lines she was supposed to say when the room filled with light again thanks to the opened door. A group of cheerleaders walked in, among them Mallory. 

"Rehearsing already? You know Claudia, you should wait until your Female Lead arrives to do that."

"You were late! And Pietro could've practiced with the understudy." Claudia wasn't going to take Mallory's comments seriously; she had a play to run here.

Mallory walked over to Pietro and grabbed his arm smiling innocently at him.

"You can sit down now Freshman, Pietro and I will take it from here" she said sounding all sweetness.

"Like, whatever…" Kitty sat down and watched as Pietro let out a sigh of relief. 

~~ Like, I wasn't THAT bad! ~~

She heard as Pietro explained his new version of the play and handed the new copy to Mallory. She didn't look very pleased.

"Pietro, sweetie… there're a lot more lines to memorize now…"

"Yeah well, they sound better then what was written on that script originally."

"What was wrong with the first script?!" 

~~ Don't tell me SHE wrote it!?! ~~amazingly both Pietro & Kitty thought the exact same thing.

"Umh... nothing! There was nothing wrong with the first script. It's just that, it needed a few corrections here and there you know. Nothing important." 

"You changed practically every line."

Pietro was loosing his patience with this retard of a girl.

"Listen, it's just better now! Ok! Let's just practice."

"Fine, but I hope you know this means we'll have to put up extra hours of rehearsal… together" said Mallory as she got closer to Pietro.

"Yeah fine… whatever. Can we just begin already? We have a lot to do." 

For the rest of the hour Kitty watched as Pietro and Mallory practiced one love scene after another. She realized the new script was rather good. It was very romantic; she had to give him credit for that. She wondered if he wrote it himself or if he had help. 

After what looked like forever Kitty saw that Pietro was starting to get tired. They had decided to call it quits for the day and they would meet same time tomorrow. What surprised her though was that instead of running out the door and away from Mallory like he did last time, he was walking straight for her.

~~ What does he want now? ~~

"Hey…" he said standing in front of her seat.

"Yeah?"

"What you think of the play now?" he asked placing his hands behind his head as he looked down at her.

"It looks ok. Better then what they had before" she smiled at him. 

~~ Now maybe he'll go away? ~~ she kept thinking

"Of course it's better then the piece of junk they had before. But come on! It's gotta be better then 'ok', I mean, I wrote it for crying out loud! It's a Masterpiece!"

~~ Getting a little ahead of ourselves huh? ~~

"Fine Pietro, like whatever… it was a good play."

"See, told ya I'm better then anyone around here!" 

"Is that what you want me to say? Like, no way! You wrote a good play but it's not over yet." 

~~ Like, this guy is just TOO full of himself! No wonder Evan can't stand him! ~~

"Fine you little X-geek. But once this is over you have to admit that I AM better then anyone around here!"

"Only if you prove it Maximoff!" Kitty was not amused any more with the large ego this boy seemed to have.

After that Pietro simply turned around and walked away as quickly as he could without using his powers.

~~ Little brat! I'll show you who's the best! ~~

End Chapter 2

*******************************************************

Hope you guys like it… let me know what you think!=^_^=


	3. A Lovers Feud part 3

A Lovers Feud

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

Edited by: Galry Gabriev

Chapter 3

The rest of the week flew by with the same boring routine: school, classes then rehearsals. Kitty didn't have a chance to practice the female lead role with Pietro anymore since Mallory made sure to always be there on time. Kitty was thankful for that, she didn't think she could stand the fast talking boy any longer.

It was Friday now and most of the X-men were over by the school gym watching Evan practice with the basketball team. There was a big game this weekend and Evan couldn't stop talking about it. Kitty wondered why Pietro didn't join the basketball team at Bayville; he used to play at his old school, right?

~~ Like, why am I thinking about him? He is such a waste of my time. ~~

"Kitty, are you alright?" Jean asked the young girl.

"Yeah, like totally. Just watching the game!" Kitty flashed her a warm smile. 

~~ Cannot think about him now! Cannot think about him now! Not with Jean here! ~~

Jean just gave her a worried look. How she wanted to just go into her mind and see what was bothering her, but the Professor had advised against it. Jean had to respect other people's privacy. Kitty would talk to them if anything were wrong.

Suddenly Kitty's expression changed into one of surprise and disbelief and then into one of nervousness. Jean looked in the direction Kitty was starring and saw the reason for her change in mood.

"The Brotherhood." Jean announced it to the rest of the gang.

"Why are THEY here?" Rouge crossed her arms as she saw them come in.

"Just ignore them guys, if they don't start trouble then we wont" that was Scott, always in control. Kitty just hoped the Brotherhood hadn't spotted them.

If there was one thing Pietro did not want to be involved in at Bayville, it was basketball. He associated basketball to Evan, and Evan to a lot of other feelings he had worked very hard at keeping away. But Lance thought they were better off doing something more amusing with their Friday afternoon then watching how many hot dogs Fred could eat before Pietro snatched them away.

Pietro was actually having fun annoying Freddy, Todd was also having a good time eating the hot dogs Pietro 'rescued' from Fat boy. But Lance said he wouldn't spend his only free afternoon from his part-time job watching them do that. 

"Why are we here again?" asked a very bored Pietro.

"Because if I had to watch the three of you fight over food one more time my brain would rot away."

"Then you could've come here by yourself, huh Lance-boy?"

"Yeah, but not if I wanted to have fun…" Lance smirked at Pietro.

~~ What did he mean by that? ~~

"Explain."

"Look at all those school-spirited students watching their basketball team practice for the big game tomorrow. Pietro, do you know how much spare change those students have in their pockets?"

~~ Oh yeah! Finally some fun! Nothing like a challenge to get the juices going! ~~

"We could find out…" Pietro's evil smile was all Lance needed to know his plan was approved. 

"Then lets go."

~~ Like, what are they up to? ~~

The X-men had been watching the Brotherhood since the moment they came in. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, they had separated and right now the only one they could see was Todd. It seemed he hadn't spotted them yet. They saw Todd walk over to a group of young girls. He stood behind them for a short while and then he ran off without attracting any attention. Any attention that is, except for Scott's. He knew what the Toad was up to, Tolensky was good, but Scott wouldn't let him get away from stealing like that. 

Todd was busy stealing now from the unmistakable pocket of one Duncan Matthews. Big mistake. When he turned around he noticed all his escape routes were being blocked by none other then 'Mr. Perfect' Scott Summers and his three female teammates.

"Hey yo! Get out of my way!"

"Not so fast Todd, maybe you want to give something back before it's too late." Scott was serious now. Kitty thought Scott looked cute when he was serious.

~~ Oh wait, like that's almost all the time… oh, have to concentrate. ~~

"Hey I don't know nothing… now get out of my way before…"

"MY WALLET!!!" screamed a very angry Duncan. "You little toad! Where is it?"

Duncan's strong hand came crashing down Todd's shoulder and once he made sure the younger boy wouldn't move he searched his pockets. Turns out Todd had visited quiet a number of different students before getting to Duncan.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's going to enjoy pounding ya!"

"Wait Duncan! Let's just take him to the Principal's office. She can handle him."

"You know Summers, you need to learn not to butt-in on other people's business."

"Yeah, tell me about it…" said Todd as he rolled his eyes.

"SHUT UP TOAD!" Duncan's grip on his shoulder was getting harder to ignore. Todd just hoped his teammates would find him soon.

"Duncan, come on! You don't need to beat him up, he's not worth it." Jean was trying to sweet talk him into letting him go, but Duncan was not going to do that. Not even for Jean Grey.

"Sorry Jean, but this freak needs to learn to respect other people's property!"

Duncan's fist was about to connect with Todd's unprepared face when they suddenly felt a strong gust of wind followed by one Pietro Maximoff who was now hanging from Duncan's neck.

"So Duncan, this is what you do to keep in shape, huh? Niiiice! You know, I can take you over to a few kindergarten girls next. In case you feel you need the challenge."

"GET OFF OF ME MAXIMOFF!"

Pietro grabbed Todd away from Duncan so fast he didn't even notice he wasn't holding the little freak anymore. Duncan was angry; who did this sophomore think he was anyway? He was The Duncan Matthews, and when he wanted to beat somebody up, there was nobody that was going to stand in his way. 

And his newest target: one white haired grinning sophomore. 

Duncan tried to hit Pietro in the face, but he suddenly found himself hitting air.

"You looking for someone?"

"How did you…? Oh, never mind! You're going down Maximoff!"

Again he tried but found himself hitting nothing.

"You can't hit meeee! I'm way better then youuuu!" Pietro loved to tease, but he didn't realize he was heading toward another group of jocks until he felt them grab him from behind.

"Whaa…?" was all he said before he felt himself being pinned down on the floor.

"HEY! I CAN'T MOVE!! Get off of me! Get off NOW!"

"Nice going guys, that'll teach that punk to mess with us." Duncan was heading Pietro's way with murder on his eyes. There wasn't a thing Scott or Jean could do or say to stop the angry football player, so Kitty decided to try out her luck.

"Like, what are you doing!?" she said as she ran to catch up to Duncan.

"KITTY! Get back here!" Jean couldn't believe what she was seeing. Since when did Kitty try to stop jocks from beating up Brotherhood members?

"Get lost Freshman!" most of the jocks laughed at this, but Kitty simply placed her 'I'm annoyed' look and kept going.

"He didn't do anything you know! Why you have to pick on smaller kids anyway?"

Pietro couldn't believe he was hearing this.

"You know Pryde, right now would be a good time for you to leave." Pietro was annoyed. He could handle himself just fine; he didn't need some girl trying to protect him.

"Like, try to do a guy a favor!" she was only helping and THIS is how he thanked her?

"No one asked you to! Yo, Summers! Put the leash back on your little Kitty over here."

"Why you! You almost sound like you WANT to be beat up!"

"I'm doing just fine, thanks!" Pietro said while being pinned down on the floor with his arms behind his back.

"Oh, I can see that…" Kitty just scoffed.

"You know, if the two of you need some time alone for this…" Duncan kept looking back and forth between the two; he found it all rather amusing. Of course, all he got was an angry look from Kitty and an "I'm going to kill you" from Pietro. 

Suddenly Duncan felt the ground beneath him move and he found himself on the floor after loosing his balance. But he had another surprise when he felt the full impact of a boot land right on his chest. After grunting in pain he looked up to see Lance Alvers foot pinning him down.

"I'll advice you guys to let go of that kid now." Lance pointed at Pietro and although the other jocks weren't afraid of starting a fight with the brown haired senior, it was the person behind him that scarred them. Surely no one wanted to start a fight with Fred J. Dukes, … that guy was just too scary.

Pietro quickly got to his feet and pushed his way toward Lance ignoring the still angry Kitty. Why she had bothered to try to help him was something he wasn't interested in finding out, but he did want to get as far away from her as possible.

Not too far away Todd Tolensky was watching how his friends handled the situation. He figured if anybody tried anything he could always leap to the rescue… not that he thought he'd be of much help, but he was ready should they need him. 

"Eww, what is that smell?" cried a disgusted girly voice. "Oh yeah, it most be Tolensky the toad." That statement was followed by the giggles of other annoying girls.

Todd didn't need to turn around, he knew who it was… oh yes, he knew. 

~~ Cheerleaders… how anyone finds them adorable is beyond me… ~~ Todd turned regardless; it was better to get this over with. He now faced the personification of female evil: Mallory.

"Why are you here toad? … You'll scare everyone off." Her tone was sweet, almost as if she was explaining some well-known fact.

"Mallory! His stench will stick to our uniforms! And right before the big game!" said one of the girls as she made a face at Todd.

"We can't have that, now can we?" Mallory looked around for a jock, any jock. She knew they all liked to pound on the toad.

"Hey yo! Chill… I can take a hint, I'll just go find Pietro and I'm gone."

"Pietro? He's here? Where is he?"

~~ Sucker! As if it wasn't obvious you were after him. ~~

"He's right over there… seems Duncan doesn't like him right now though."

Mallory pushed Todd aside as she moved to get closer.

"HEY!… no need to push!… stupid cheerleaders."

Duncan was up now and starring daggers at Lance. He knew he had to back down, although he had most of the football team right there with him he knew none of them would take on Dukes. He'd have to wait until he could get that little toad alone to beat him up for stealing his wallet and he figured Pietro needed to be taught a lesson as well. Lance however wasn't backing down on anything.

"Come on Matthews! You gonna do something to me or are ya gonna keep looking?"

"Maybe he finds you cute." Said a smirking Pietro, the look he got from Lance told him not to make jokes like that again.

"Just tell that toad of yours not to be stealing from me again Alvers!"

Pietro remembered Todd, where was he? He looked around not noticing their younger member.

"Hey Freddy, where's Todd?"

"Uh, he's fine. He's waiting back there." Fred pointed to the other side of the gym and sure it was, he saw Todd. But that wasn't the only person Pietro saw and almost with enough speed to surprise the Mighty Quicksilver he felt his arm being abducted in the, by now, familiar grip that seemed to cut his circulation.

"Hello Mallory." He said not sounding very amused at all.

"Hi Pietro…" Mallory turned and looked at Duncan. "He's not bothering you, is he?"

"His entire existence revolves around bothering others, haven't you noticed?"

"Duncan just has a tough time making friends, that's all." 

"Duncan has a tough time getting his brain to function at a normal speed, what do you want me to do about that?"

"Well, you're right about that… Pietro, sweetie there's going to be a party later this afternoon, want to come?"

"Umh… sure! Love to." Finally something to do… he'd rather beat the crap out of some X-geeks, but he guessed they'd have enough time for that later.

Lance couldn't believe it. What did Pietro think he was doing over here? Challenging Duncan Matthews and his gang of retards for his health? Now he had to find a way to get them back home before another jock finds Todd again and here Pietro was making plans with this cheerleader. Lance lost all interest in his argument with Duncan and simply turned around to leave.

"Come on Fred, let's go back home."

"HEY! Don't turn your back on me Alvers!"

"Whatever Duncan… later."

"You scared of me Alvers! I don't blame you!"

Lance didn't answer, he simply moved his hand over the ground before him. A simply gesture that Duncan didn't notice, what he DID notice however was the ground begin to move once more and a lot of his football buddies landing flat on the floor.

Pietro watched as Lance and Fred walked away. That was strange, usually Lance jumped at the chance to beat somebody up, specially someone that deserved it as much as that jock did.

The rest of the X-men watched everything is silence for once. Scott and Jean were glad there was no fighting, Rogue wouldn't have minded a little action, but Kitty was deep in thought over something. She wasn't angry anymore over Pietro's lack of gratitude; she kept looking at him though. Something in his face, was it worry? The way he looked back at his friends… he was confused about something. But her thoughts were interrupted by a tug on her arm.

"Come on Kitty. Evan finished practice so we can go home now." Rogue couldn't wait to get away from this jock over-populated gym. "You ok?"

"Yeah, yeah… I'm fine. Let's just go home, you know. I'm tired." Kitty tried to smile but she knew Rogue wasn't fooled. Still the Goth girl didn't say anything as they walked over to Scott's car.

*******************************************************

It was pretty late at night by the time Pietro got home. He hadn't meant to stay at that party for so long, but one thing lead to another and before you knew it, BOOM! It was almost 1:00am. He figured everyone most be asleep already so he was very quiet as he searched for his house keys. He wasn't worried at all about Mystique; as long as they were there when she needed them for a mission she hardly cared what else they did.

The house was completely black inside. It was almost scary, not that he'd tell that to anyone. Pietro didn't dare turn any of the lights on, it might wake one of the guys and then he'd never heard the end of it. 

Pietro was slowly working his way toward the stairs. Moving at this speed was killing him, it was just so slow! But he figured he would trip on something on his way up to his room if he wasn't careful. He had just passed the living room when he heard a little noise. 

~~ What was that? … I don't want to turn around and look, that's when the crazy psychopath strikes at his helpless victims with baseball bats! ~~

Pietro was left frozen near the couch until he detected from the corner of his eye some movement. 

~~ Oh! Screw whatever is on the floor! I'm GONE! ~~

Pietro was about to make a dead run for it when he suddenly heard a familiar voice from the couch.

"Morning Pietro."

The white haired boy jumped at least 10 feet thanks to that scare.

"What were you THINKING!?… you don't just make people feel like they're stuck in some terribly directed horror film!" Pietro had a cold-sweat running down on him as he pressed his hand to where his heart was rapidly beating… more so then usual.

"Keep it down, Todd and Fred are still sleeping." Lance got up and walked over to the still rather terrified Pietro.

"Geez!… what you doing up anyway?"

"Where were you?" Lance was upset. Pietro had noticed that this afternoon but thought that whatever it was he would've gotten over it by now… apparently he was wrong.

"You know… over with Mallory at that stupid party. Why?"

"Must've been really stupid for you to stay there until one in the morning."

"So I lost track of time, big deal! … You were waiting for me? You stayed up until one in the morning waiting for me? Come on Lance, what do you think I am, stupid? I can find my way home and I don't need anyone checking up on me!"

"Then maybe you should've stayed with those jocks if that's where you rather be!"

"Definitely better then how it's here right now…"

"What were you thinking? I never thought you'd stay out there this late! I didn't even know where that stupid party was! I had no idea where you were or when you'd come back or if Duncan decided to finish what he started in the gym today!!"

"I can take care of myself Lance! I don't need you! So you can just cut the crap with this whole 'big brother' thing you've got! Todd might need it, but I sure as hell don't!"

Todd was sitting on the stairs listening to the yelling that was going on below. If he knew it was going to get this loud he would've stayed in bed, he could've heard it from there. He wondered if Fred was listening to this too, the big guy was probably blissfully asleep. He envied him. He didn't have to hear the insult after insult those two were throwing at each other down there.

He never thought things would get this complicated. He knew Lance was upset over Pietro going off to some jock party, he didn't like that either. It seemed jocks everywhere hated almost every member of the Brotherhood… and of course, it also worked the other way around. But Pietro was the exception. Although also a member of the Brotherhood, Pietro wasn't treated like 'white-trash' by most of Bayville. 

Pietro had always looked different, cleaner somehow… Todd knew Pietro was just as bad as any of them; the kid had a criminal record for vandalizing school property at his old school, for crying out loud! But it didn't change the fact that Pietro belonged to a higher scale in society, close to theirs but not quite.

The fight downstairs kept going. Pietro kept saying how he was just hanging out with Mallory and how he didn't need a baby sitter. Lance kept yelling stuff about how stupid Pietro was and such. … Mallory… this was all Mallory's fault. If she hadn't invited Pietro to that party then none of this would've happened.

The fight kept going and the insults kept getting meaner, more personal. They were practically shouting every tiny little thing that had ever annoyed them about each other since the day they met. Until finally he heard it, a PUNCH! One of them had punched the other down! Todd's eyes grew wide as he slowly made his way down the stairs, he didn't want anyone spotting him.

He felt the eerie silence that followed. He took a glimpse toward the living room and saw Lance standing up, his mouth slightly open in shock as he looked down at Pietro. For his part, the white haired boy laid on the floor with his hand covering the side of his face that Lance had punched. His blue eyes were wide for a moment, Todd guessed Pietro had never thought Lance would hit him, after all the kid was fast enough to dodged any attacks. 

"Pietro… are you…ok?" Lance was still a bit shocked at what he did. Pietro though didn't bother to answer him. With his eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched tightly together he simply got up and ran out the door faster then any of them had ever seen him go. 

The next morning wasn't exactly a lot of fun. Lance wasn't talking at all and Pietro hadn't returned home since the fight. When Fred came down he noticed the unusual quiet that had taken over the usually messy and loud kitchen.

"Where's Pietro?" Fred asked as he noticed the reason why it was all so quiet.

Todd had to wince at that question. ~~ Not a good idea to ask that now. ~~ he thought.

"He… he left early this morning… had some things to do." Lance didn't bother to look up; he seemed to find the morning paper very interesting this morning.

Fred knew something wasn't right. Pietro didn't wake up early unless he absolutely HAD to… and Lance looked upset. Then again he had looked that way since yesterday. He decided not to ask anymore; instead he elbowed Todd for some answers.

Todd felt the elbow almost knock him out of his chair. 

"Ouch! Geez Freddy, be careful!"

"Sorry…" he always forgot he had to be careful with Todd, he wasn't as tough as his other two teammates were. "Where is Pietro?"

"I… we don't know Freddy. He'll be back when he cools off."

"Why would he need to cool off?" what did he miss exactly?

"Never mind. I'll tell ya later, 'kay?" Todd couldn't go into detail right in front of Lance of how he had been eaves dropping on their argument.

~~ That stupid Mallory! She caused this! … Those cheerleaders and jocks are always bad news for people like us. Well, I'm going to do something about it! ~~

And with his mind set Todd headed for the door… only to be stopped by Lance.

"Where are you going?!" Lance had freaked watching Todd getting up so quickly. It was almost as if he was running away from him too.

"I have to do something… it won't take long." He figured that with Fred's lack of sensitivity, it probably wasn't a good idea to leave him alone with Lance right now.

"Hey Freddy… wanna join me? I could use the help."

"I'm eating!"

"Oh fine! I'll buy you breakfast."

"Alright!" Fred got up and headed toward Todd.

"Want us to get you anything Lance?"

"Umh?… oh no, that's alright. Just don't be too long."

~~ Pietro, where are you? ~~

*******************************************************

"This game is going to be so cool! We're SO going to win this!" Evan was very excited about the big basketball game today.

"Yeah Evan, you guys have been practicing very hard these past few day. Is the other team really that tough?" Scott was driving toward the school. The game wouldn't be until a few hours, but the players had to be there early so all the X-men decided to join Evan while he practiced.

"They might be tough, but we're tougher man!"Evan and Kurt high-fived each other while the rest of the gang smiled.

"You know Evan, it's amazing how both you and Kitty have disappeared from the Institute this whole past week." Jean said as she looked at her friends from the rear-view mirror.

"Yeah, it's like the two of you have been abducted." Joked Kurt as he got more comfortable on the back seat.

"Aw! Did you like, miss us Kurt?" Kitty smiled at him fondly.

"Hey Blue boy, stop slouching already." That was Rogue.

Kurt poofed in the front seat between Scott and Jean so Rogue wouldn't kill him. 

"Sor-ry!" he said as he got comfortable again. Yep, it was better here.

"Hey Kitty, we all know that Evan's game is today, but what about your play? When will they make the show?" Scott said as he watched the road.

"Like, don't ask me. Mallory is still trying to learn the new script."

"The 'new' script… you mean they changed the old one? Thank god." Said Rogue, now happier since she had more room.

"Like totally… it's actually, more romantic now."

"But you don't know when they give the show?"

"Like, I have no idea… besides, I'm like the understudy! It doesn't matter cause unless something terrible happens to Mallory before then I'm like never going to be in that play."

*******************************************************

Todd Tolensky have had enough of stuck up little cheerleaders who thought they had the right to ruin other people's lives. He was going to make sure she didn't bother them for a long while.

"Why are we waiting at the parking lot again?" Fred didn't understand Todd's plan, so he asked him again… for the 10th time.

"Freddy! Be quiet! I've told you 10 times already… we're waiting to see which of those bags is Mallory's." The cheerleaders had left most of their things inside one of the jocks car, and Todd wanted to 'borrow' Mallory's for a while.

"Why again?"

Todd was loosing his patience. How did Lance handle both Fred AND Pietro was beyond him. … Pietro… where was he? … He was the reason he was doing this. Mallory was breaking his new 'family' apart. Todd used the term loosely, but it seemed to fit.

"We're doing this to get back at the jocks."

"Then why don't we play a prank on Duncan?"

Todd simply looked at him for a while.

~~ Of course YOU'D say that Freddy, YOU could handle the entire football team! And besides, Duncan isn't making Lance and Pietro fight. ~~

"Cause Mallory deserves it more." Todd heard some giggling coming their way. 

"Hide Freddy!" The two boys quickly hid behind a car and saw as the girls got their things. They saw Mallory get her bag, a disgustingly cute pink gym bag that held her cheerleader uniform and her special tennis shoes.

Todd knew what to do now.

*******************************************************

The basketball game was the most exiting thing ever! Everyone from Bayville came to cheer on their team as they kept dunking basket after basket! Kitty for one never thought Storm could be this loud.

"Shoot Evan! SHOOT!"

"You can do it Evan!" Kurt kept jumping like a child as if he was making those dunks himself. Everyone seemed to be caught up in the whole excitement of the game and Kitty… well, she kept herself busy looking at how everyone reacted. She found it all very funny. Even Rogue was loosing herself in the game. Kitty lost count of how many insults the Goth girl had hurled down at the referee.

Evan had the ball now. He was running with it so fast he'd put Quicksilver to shame!

~~ Well, that's not true… but he IS fast! ~~ thought Kitty to herself. 

~~ Wonder what that demented speed demon is doing now… ~~ Kitty often found herself wondering what the white haired boy did to occupy his time, she didn't know if he still played basketball.

She was suddenly broken from her thoughts as she heard the loud cry of the crowd as Evan dunked the ball in the opposing team's net. Bayville was in the lead because of him! She could almost feel how proud Storm was of her nephew. 

The teams were now regrouping with their couches as 'half-time' began. That meant:

"Cheerleaders Heaven!" Kurt screamed loud and clear across the gym.

"Like, how embarrassing!" Kitty tried to pretend she didn't know him.

"Be quiet Blue boy. You don't have to sound so desperate." Rogue said as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Can you blame a guy for trying?" Kurt smiled that sweet smile of his and promised he would behave himself. That is, until the loud music began to play and the bouncy hyperactive cheerleaders began to jog their way down the court. Kurt lost all his senses then…

~~ Like, what's the big deal? They're like, cheerleaders… most of them like, really annoying. ~~Spending a couple of hours with them after school really made her wonder why she thought so highly of them before.

The girls started their dance routine, which had just about everything you'd see at the circus. The music was loud enough to put a rock concert to shame and amazingly enough the crowd's screams seemed to be almost as high. The last part of the show was amazingly high pyramid with none other then cheerleader captain Mallory at the very top. Everything was perfect! The crowd was cheering their favorite girls as the pyramid got higher and higher until Mallory stood at the top and lifted her arms up. The crowd's screams were going to tear down the gym… but then all the happy, joyful sounds stopped and were replaced instead by a loud shriek.

End Chapter 3

Heehee… ~.^okay, tell me what you think so far… was it like totally evil of me to have Lance & Pietro fight? …. It probably was…. Oh well! ^_^


	4. A Lovers Feud part 4

A Lovers Feud

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

Chapter 4

Pietro was tired. He had been angry before, but now he was just tired. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he hadn't slept at all yet. 

After his fight with Lance he needed to go somewhere where he could calm down and think for a while. Of course, this was his excuse AFTER he had calmed down, but he didn't know why he ran for it after Lance had hit him. 

That punch though… it had made him so angry. He could've easily blocked it, he was fast enough, but he didn't and he didn't know why. He also could've hit him back, although Lance was bigger and stronger Pietro was faster and he could've hit him over 50 times in the blink of an eye, but he didn't do that. He had just run and now he didn't know how to go back. How could he face Lance? And did the others know what happened? He didn't think Lance would've told them, but they had been screaming at each other at one o'clock in the morning, that was hard to miss.

Now he was walking aimlessly around school, not a good place by the way. He had completely forgotten about the basketball game that was scheduled for this weekend and he was bumping into everyone inside the huge mass of people. After a while though he realized it was better this way, if he were alone with his thoughts he'd probably turn suicidal.

He didn't want to look too much into the game, every time he turned he saw Evan making a basket, watching that was not helping. He was thankful when half time came and the players took their break. Watching the cheerleaders was bound to be the high light of Pietro's day… and apparently he was not alone…

"Cheerleaders Heaven!" he heard from the bleachers.

~~ Hey, that sounded like Blue boy. ~~ Sure enough, the X-men were watching the game, cheering for their precious Evan. Pietro thought he'd throw up. Kitty was there too, looking completely mortified over Kurt's outburst. Pietro had to smile a bit over that… how could girls take such a thing so seriously? 

Soon though, he lost interest in the X-geeks as the cheerleaders started their routine. Those girls sure had some elaborated moves, not better then what he was used to in his old school back in New York, but they were good nonetheless. The crowd was wild and he soon found himself screaming at the top of his lungs just like everyone else. He realized he needed this. He needed to forget about his problems back home and for just a minute focus on something trivial. 

He would've gladly kept this up for a while longer but he saw someone that brought him back to reality. Todd. What was he doing here? Jock activities were usually the last place his teammate would've been caught in. Unless the Brotherhood was out looking for him. If that was true then Lance couldn't be too far off. 

Todd looked jumpy, he couldn't blame him, this place was full of all his favorite bullies. Pietro looked behind the young mutant and saw Fred was with him.

~~ Why would Todd feel nervous if he's got Fred with him? ~~

Pietro walked over to the two mutants who looked like they were expecting something horrible to happen to them soon. He really shouldn't tease them… but this was just something Pietro couldn't resist.

"BOO!"

"AAAAHHH!!!!" Todd made a giant leap and landed on top of Fred's head making the big mutant loose his balance and fall.

"HAHAHA! Man! You guys sure are great for a laugh."

"Why did you do that?!?!… Pietro? Oh my God, you're alright yo!" Todd bounced off Fred and right into Pietro.

"Of course I'm alright, why wouldn't I be?" 

"You weren't at home this morning and you missed breakfast!" For Fred missing breakfast meant a huge problem apparently.

"Yeah well… I had some stuff to do. So anyway, where's Lance?" he looked around hoping not to bump into the older boy.

"He's back home Pietro… he's… he's probably waiting for you." Todd just wanted those two to make up already so things were back to normal.

"Well I'm not going back just yet… What are you guys doing here anyway? Don't tell me you're secret fans of the Bayville Basketball Team!" he said with a sly smile.

"I got dragged here. Ask him." Fred pointed at Todd as the young mutant frowned at his larger companion.

"I… We had something to take care of."

"Such as?" Pietro was as curious as he was impatient… it was a bad combination his friends had learned to live with.

Todd's answer though was not to be heard as a loud shriek filled the entire gym. Pietro turned around and saw as Mallory fell from the top of the cheerleader pyramid and landed right on the hard floor. The young girl was crying in agony as she held on to her leg, which seemed to have taken some damage. Pietro was about to run to her when he felt a strong hand grasp him by the shoulders.

"Hey!" Pietro turned to see Fred holding him back.

"Yo Man, let's just go, alright? She has the entire football team helping her."

"Did you see that?! How did that happen?" Pietro couldn't believe he had seen her fall and didn't do anything. So much for his great speed, he could do anything useful.

He hadn't expected her to fall, so he was shocked when she did. The same way he wasn't expecting Lance to hit him.

"These things happen Man, let's just go now."

"Did you plan this? … Todd! Did you know this was going to happen?" If he hadn't been grabbed by Fred before he probably would've been holding Todd by his neck now demanding answers.

"I don't know what you're talking about! All I know is we have to go!" and with that he leapt out of the gym and headed toward the street.

Pietro pushed Fred away so the larger mutant would let go of his arm and looked back to where Mallory was being carried away in a stretcher. 

~~ What did Todd do? And why? I know he hates jocks but to take down a cheerleader… that just doesn't sound like him. ~~

"Fred, what were you guys doing?" he knew he'd get his answers from Fat boy; he was too annoying to be ignored for long.

Fred looked at Pietro for a while. Should he admit they had something to do with the mysterious 'accident' or should he play along?

"I don't know."

"WRONG! Try again Fat boy!"

"Alright, alright… Todd wanted to get back at the jocks so he made sure Mallory's shoes would be slippery before the show."

Pietro just took a deep breath. The girl was sometimes annoying but that didn't mean he wanted her to get hurt.

"You're not going to rat on us… are ya?" Fred was worried for his younger friend.

"OF COURSE NOT FRED! What kind of person do you think I am?!"

"Sorry, sorry…" he held his arms up in defense.

"Let's just go now. They took her away so let's just hope it's nothing serious."

**************************************************************

Scott Summers, Jean Grey and Kitty Pryde were waiting in the Hospital to see if they could visit Mallory. She had been there since Saturday afternoon and it was now Sunday. She couldn't believe she had missed the entire basketball game, what was worse was that without their Captain the cheerleaders had to improvise the ending of their routine for the rest of their shows. She was sorry she couldn't be there.

Mallory's room almost looked like a flower shop, so many people had send their condolences that it was almost impossible to breath. Mallory was only thankful she wasn't allergic.

"Hey Mallory." Said Scott as they entered the room. 

"Oh Mallory, how are you feeling?" Of course Jean knew how she was feeling, but maybe if she said it out loud she'd feel better then that.

"Oh, I'm just fine." How many times had she had to answer this same question? "Just hoping I can get out of here soon." She forced a smile to Jean, what she really wanted to do was scream as to why she wasn't home yet.

"Like, too bad about your leg. What are you going to do about cheerleading now?"

~~ Gee, I don't know Freshman… maybe I'd still be able to run around with this huge CAST on my leg! What do you think I'm going to have to do?! ~~

"Well… guess I'm going to have to cool it with the jumping for a while huh."

Jean heard her thoughts toward Kitty and she didn't like them at all, but she figured the girl must be really upset, after all everything she did revolved around the fact that she was in great physical shape. To have her leg in a cast was going to leave her out of everything she was doing for a while.

"We just thought we'd come by and see how you were doing."

"Thanks Scott, I appreciate it. I just can't believe this happened! I've done this routine like a million times! How could I just fall like that?!"

"Well like, don't worry. You can still help on some of the activities the cheerleaders had planned for the semester. And it's not like your leg will be like that forever you know."

Kitty wanted to cheer her up, but it didn't seem to be working.

"But I guess this all works out well for you, right Kitty?"

"Huh? Like, what are you talking about?"

"My cast wont be off for a while and the play will be on before then. Guess you'll get your chance in the spot light Freshman."

Kitty had completely forgotten about that. With that cast on Mallory wouldn't be able to do the play. So she really was the FEMALE LEAD! The small smile that came to Kitty's face wasn't cheering up Mallory either.

"Like, I had completely forgotten about that!"

"I'm sure you did Freshman." Mallory was getting annoyed with this visit so Jean decided to cut it short right here.

"Ok well, we're glad you're feeling alright. We hope to see you back in school on Monday." Jean smiled sweetly at the now scolding Mallory and dragged the surprised Scott and the really happy Kitty out by their arms.

As they were being dragged by Jean out of the hospital Scott decided to ask the reason for their sudden departure.

"What was that all about?" he asked Jean once they reached the car. 

"Did you see the look on Mallory's face? If she didn't have that cast on she would've jumped on Kitty!"

"Guess she was very upset about loosing her spot on the play." Scott looked over to Kitty who still didn't believe she had been granted such a blessing. 

"Hey Kitty…snap out of it." Scott had to laugh at his younger teammate. She had really been oblivious to Mallory's death glares. Although he wasn't glad to what happened to Mallory, he had to admit he was happy Kitty got the part. She deserved it a lot more.

******************************************************

Once again the birds were singing their early morning tune as the sun rose behind the mountains. The young speed demon slowly opened his eyes to adjust to the light and greeted the morning in his usual way.

"Oh crap… another Monday." And with that he pulled his pillow over his head and fell back to sleep. A weird sense of déjà vu crossed over him, but he quickly dismissed it.

This last weekend had been weird. After talking to Todd he realized the young mutant blamed the 'sometimes annoying' cheerleader for the fight he had eaves dropped between Lance and Pietro. He made Todd promise never to pull a stunt like that again, or to at least consult him before doing it. Although he wished there was something he could do to fix this problem the damage had been done. He had heard that Mallory's leg was in a cast and couldn't participate on the routines anymore… he hoped though the cast would be off before their play was on.

As he made his way downstairs he remembered another little problem. Lance. When Pietro had returned home on Saturday Lance seemed relieved to see him, but he didn't say anything. In fact, the two had avoided each other for the last 48 hours. 

Now though Lance was the only one in the kitchen so there was no way to avoid him. 

"Morning." Pietro said as he came down the stairs. He tried not to look at him because he knew Lance was starring hoping that they would 'talk', about what Pietro had no idea.

"Morning…" Lance wanted to say something more, anything, but he just didn't know what. 

The silence was getting to their nerves. Finally Pietro decided they had better put what happened last Friday behind them and simply start talking as they did before. 

"So where are Fred and Todd?"

"Umm… they're still sleeping." Lance was a bit surprised that Pietro had talked to him. He had expected to be avoided for at least a week.

"Sleeping?"

"Yeah, you woke up rather early today." Lance said as he drank his coffee.

"No way…" he looked at the clock. They still had half an hour before school started. "Guess I couldn't stay in bed anymore."

"Pietro look… I'm sorry about Friday."

"Whatever Lance, I don't want to talk about it."

"But we HAVE to talk about it. You're aware that they know about it, right? Todd has been acting weird ever since then. And simply tries not to be around anymore."

"And whose fault is that?!"

Lance took a deep breath. He wasn't going to argue again, especially when he was trying to apologize for their first fight.

"Look Pietro, … It was all my fault, alright? I lost my temper and I hurt you, I'm sorry… All I want is for you to forgive me so we can go back to the way things were before."

Pietro was a bit taken by Lance's apology. Why did it matter so much to Lance what he did, where he went or what time he got home? They were just living together until Magneto and Mystique decided they weren't worth the effort any more. Sure, he could understand everyone looking out for Todd; he was the youngest and the most vulnerable to bullies and such. But he didn't need to be fussed over like that.

"Fine, fine… I forgive you Lance." Pietro tried to sound serious as he said it but a smile was breaking as he accepted his apology. "Now are you happy?"

"I feel better at least."

"Glad to hear it." Finally, now things could go back to normal. "So, you doing anything after school? We could hang out or something…"

"I have my job, but I could skip it today."

"No, no way!… we'll hang out on Friday since that's your day off. Besides, I forgot I have to practice for that play."

"Oh yeah, the No-name play… how is that going by the way?"

"IT HAS A NAME!!… I just have to figure out one. And it's going fine, thanks to me of course. I'll practice my lines with Mallory and by the time the play is on she'll have her cast off. So everything is fine." Pietro poured himself some cereal as he kept talking to Lance.

"Umh, Pietro… the play will probably be on by the end of the month. That's when the competition against the other schools is, right. Do you think Mallory's cast will be off by then?"

"Sure! It has to be!" Pietro finished his breakfast in three seconds and was now eating an apple.

"Well… at least you guys have understudies for these occasions."

Pietro's eyes suddenly grew wide and he started to choke on his apple.

*****************************************************

Pietro's last class before lunch was starting to become his worst nightmare. 

~~ How could that teacher keep talking about all that nonsense? ~~

He would have gladly dozed off but he had made a promise to himself not to do so. He wasn't even sure what Mr. Smith was talking about now, he only hoped he didn't ask any questions.

Suddenly Pietro was very aware of one fact. He Was Hungry! He knew he should've eaten more then that bowl of cereal, he would've finished his apple if he hadn't chocked on it. Why had he chocked on it anyway?… oh yeah, stupid play. It was just one big headache after another with that thing. He simply wanted the school day to be over so he could confirm that Mallory was going to make it for the play. He needed Mallory to be in it! The thought of doing all those love scenes with that… that… X-men! Was just too much for him.

"Mr. Maximoff! … welcome back to our class. Would you like to answer the question?"

~~ Have I mentioned that I hate you? ~~

"Umm, no." 

~~ OK, that was just a little too honest. ~~

Pietro looked up to the teacher, he was not amused. The rest of the class was though. Kurt had to smile a bit, the blue X-men didn't wish any harm to Pietro, but he found it so comical the way the white-haired boy always got into trouble in this class.

Rogue was looking at him. The moment he looked at her though she looked away, but he could see her smile. 

~~ If even Rogue is laughing, I'm dead. ~~

"Perhaps you Mr. Maximoff would like a little extra homework, you know to keep you awake in my class."

~~ Umh, if I answer 'no' again will he only give me more homework? ~~

"Yes sir."

~~ I definitely hate you sir! ~~

As the bell rang all the students left in a hurry for lunch. Pietro didn't know why they bothered… it wasn't like the food was going to get any better. He looked as more of his classmates left to eat the mystery that was the meatloaf in this cafeteria, some of them were talking about the game, most of them though were talking about the embarrassing fall Mallory suffered.

Some jocks were talking about how it had been set up since they found Mallory's shoes covered in some slippery goo. But that idea was forgotten soon and they kept talking simply about how embarrassing it was for the poor girl.

Suddenly he found a smaller figure beside him, his dusty blonde hair unmistakable. 

"Hey Todd."

"Hey man… are you ok?"

"Yeah, just slept through last class, teacher caught me again."

"Good, now Lance can't bug me about it if you do it too." Lance was always hard on Todd and his studying, he knew the young boy could do so much more if he tried.

"Yeah, difference is though I still get A's because the class is so easy while you usually flunk." Pietro crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the lockers as they waited for the rest of the Brotherhood.

"Yeah I know… I still have to study a lot so I don't get summer school. Good thing I have Lance helping me once in a while."

"Yeah, good thing…. Think he'll help me with my extra homework?" he asked with a sly smile. 

~~ Any homework you can walk away from… ~~

"Maybe… but he'll probably ask you to take over kitchen duties for a while." 

"Nah, after my last burned dinner… he'll think twice before putting me near the stove again."

"Right,… say Pietro. Did you two patch things up?… I mean, you guys were all happy and talking during breakfast, but I just want to be sure." Todd had that little boy face he made when he was worried.

"Yeah, yeah… we patched things up. Rather weird actually… bunch of touchy feeling kind of stuff. Don't know why he cares so much."

"We were all worried about you on Friday you know. Lance just told us to go to sleep and that he'd wait for you."

"Well, you didn't have to be. I can take care of myself."

"Right… ok."

They suddenly felt the ground beneath them tremble, Todd and Pietro looked at each other and immediately knew what that was.

"Freddy…" said both boys at the same time.

"What are you guys doing here? We're late for lunch! We can't be late for lunch!" and with that Fred took off again. 

Pietro and Todd looked at each other as they saw their friend run toward their mysterious lunch. Lance was slowly making his way toward them.

"Well,… what are you doing here? We're late for lunch. We can't be late for lunch." and with that he continued to walk ever so slowly following Fred's trail.

"I tell ya Todd, one of these days… I'm going to kill Freddy."

**********************************************************

School was finally over and Pietro was going to practice for the play now. He suddenly wished he wasn't.

~~ Why am I here again? Why did I agree to do this?Oh yeah, I was bored… great, now I'm annoyed. Big difference there. ~~ 

As Pietro entered the cold air-conditioned classroom he noticed one thing right away. No Mallory.

"Where's Mallory?"

Claudia turned around to look at her male lead.

"Finally you grace us with your presence Maximoff. We're running late. Tell me you've practiced your lines?"

"Claudia, I practically WROTE the play for crying out loud!"

"And what a good job you did of it too. However, the question was, did you practice your lines?"

"Yeah, I did. But what about Mallory? She still has to practice a lot."

"Didn't you hear Pietro? Mallory broke her leg at the basketball game, she can't be in the play."

~~ Oh my God! Oh no… this can't be happening… ~~ 

"Good thing we had an understudy… never really thought we'd need her though." Said Claudia as she looked at the script.

~~ Not her, don't let it be her! ~~ Pietro was getting nervous.

"Now if only she'd get here already so we could start practicing…. How about you practice your lines with me Maximoff, while she gets here?" 

~~ Why must it be her?!… of all the lousy girls in this whole school! ~~ Pietro wanted to scream.

"Pietro?…. Hello, Maximoff?…. Great, now I'm being ignored." 

~~ Why? Why?… WHY?!?!!? ~~ 

"And then Mallory and Pietro had SEX and soon afterwards a baby."

~~ Why? Why? Why …… what did she say? ~~ 

"….. Huh?" Pietro looked shocked for a while. ~~ Did I hear her right? ~~

"Got your attention now?" Claudia was smiling mischievously.

"That's not funny…"

*******************************************************

"I'm the new female lead! I'm the new female lead!" Kitty Pryde was happy and for anyone who wasn't aware of that fact or the reason behind it, she was more then happy to sing about it on her way toward practice.

Hard to imagine that one week ago she wasn't even going to be cast. Now she only thought of what it would feel like to be acting in front of an audience.

~~ Like, this is so totally cool. Everyone at the mansion has got to come to the play. They'll be so happy for me. I have to ask Jean to take pictures so I can send them to my parents! They'll be so proud to see me on stage. ~~

She opened her script once more and looked over her lines for one of the scenes. 

~~ Ok, so like… I'm at this park on a bright sunny day and I'm sitting down on a bench looking over wherever, when suddenly the love of my life sits down besides me and asks for my name… and the love of my life is… Pietro Maximoff?… oh my GOD! ~~

Kitty's eyes suddenly grew wide as she understood for the first time why things on this Earth were never perfect. She had to do a love scene with a member of the Brotherhood. The one with the loud mouth who always thought he was better then everyone. She had to pretend to love HIM?!

~~ Like, no way! ~~

*********************************************************

"Ok Pietro, you're all set! You really know all your lines, that's great." Claudia was very happy with her male lead. 

"Told you I knew them." He was beginning to get anxious, all he wanted was to go home now and think of anyway to heal Mallory's leg sooner.

Suddenly the room filled with light as the doors were opened to reveal one Kitty Pryde. Pietro sighed in annoyance.

"So anyway Claudia, since I know my lines and all guess I'll be going now."

"Hold it right there Maximoff, you know you have to practice them with Pryde."

"But I really want to go home!" she couldn't believe this. Pietro Maximoff was practically whining.

"Oh grow up Pietro! … PRYDE! Get over here."

Kitty took slow awkwardsteps toward the stage, almost as if she'd suddenly forgotten how important this whole play had been to her no less then a week ago.

"Something wrong Pryde?"

"I'm not feeling too good. Maybe we could like practice tomorrow."

"Humor me Pryde. Just a couple of lines." ~~ What is wrong with these two? ~~

"You know, you shouldn't force the kid Claudia. She's just not ready. Give her a couple of days, I'm sure she'll do better then." Pietro wanted to run, never in his life had he wanted to run so bad… except for Mr. Smith's class.

"OK, the two of you have to practice these lines, now! And no one is leaving until I'm satisfied that you two can at least do a half then decent job!" 

"Fine, like no need to kill us over this…" said Kitty a little annoyed.

"Ok… let's start where your characters meet for the first time on page three."

"Didn't we do this one last time?" asked Kitty.

"Yes Kitty, now we're doing it again, problem?" Claudia was getting annoyed.

"No, no problem." So this was her fate. A love scene with Quicksilver. ~~ Oh well… it could be worse, it could be Todd. Ew! ~~ 

Pietro couldn't believe he had to do this with this X-geek in front of an audience. What would Mystique say about that? What about Lance and the others? What were the X-men going to do? Not that he cared about those losers, but he knew they weren't going to be very happy either. Still, he had to do this, at least to keep Claudia happy for today and later he could find a way to fix this problem.

"Ok, fine. Let's begin."

Pietro took a step closer to Kitty, but he didn't hold her hands like last time. He opened his mouth to say his lines, but nothing came out. He tried again and nothing.

"Need to read the script Maximoff?"

"NO! I'm FINE! I can do this myself."

He tried again, but all that came out were incoherent monosyllables.

"Umh,… I…. That is… charming and pretty…. And .. and I wanted to know your name!"

Kitty blinked a few times.

"Like, you didn't change the script again, did you?"

"NO! I'm just working on my lines! That's all!"

"You're not working real hard, are you?"

"Oh what do you know Kitten?"

"It's Kitty! And apparently I know more then you."

"Ooh, sounds like a challenge!" 

Claudia started to rub her, by now, very aching head as she listed to her two most important actors fighting like children. Didn't Pietro know his lines by now? And why on Earth couldn't these two be in one room at the same time without insults being thrown at each other? This play had to be perfect by the end of the month or else the Cheerleader Club wouldn't have enough money for their activities and they wouldn't be able to compete against the other schools.

"You're so, like stupid!" Kitty was upset.

"And you're so like, a total ditz, you know." Pietro said mocking her. Now Kitty was angry.

"Would the two of you SHUT UP!" Claudia though was even angrier. "OK! Practice is over for today, but the two of you better learn how to act together or I'm going to have to replace someone!"

"Like No Way! I can totally do this job!" It was pure luck that Kitty had this role now, she wasn't going to give it up over a fight with Pietro.

"Claudia, I WROTE the damn thing!" Pietro wasn't going to be replaced, not without a fight.

"Then I suggest you work on it…" and with that Claudia left the two bickering children.

Pietro and Kitty stayed in that room for a while looking at each other. They weren't moving or saying anything, just starring. Neither of them wanted to leave the play, as annoying a thing as it was, so they had to act together. Unfortunately.

"So like, guess we're going to have to get along for a while."

"I guess…" Pietro's voice was oozing with venom as he said this. This Valley girl was ruining everything! … But he could handle it, he could. He just thought of this as another challenge. Another one he had to live with thanks to this girl.

They both headed home after that, neither of them talking much, just thinking of ways they could kill the other and make it look like an accident… 

*********************************************************** 

Whenever you needed a quiet meal and a nice spot for some peace and relaxation, be assured… the Brotherhood kitchen was not it.

The television was loudly making its presence known to the whole neighborhood while Fred was making himself an extra large sandwich. They would've turned it off but Freddy kept insisting he was 'watching that channel'.

Todd was sitting on the dinner table with another school book at hand, he wasn't really reading it just looking at the pictures and hoping he'd get an A on the next test anyway. Lance had just arrived from his work and went upstairs to take a shower, which left Pietro in charge of kitchen duties for dinner.

"Ok, we could have chicken or lasagna. What do you want?" Pietro looked over their two choices as he took them out of the freezer.

"Don't we have anything that doesn't resemble an air plane meal?" asked Todd as he took a break from 'reading' his textbook.

"Hey! You're lucky we have a choice! Fred would've eaten them if they hadn't been hiding in the back of the fridge. Now tell me, chicken or lasagna?"

"I don't know… I can't think with all that noise!… FREDDY! Shut that thing off!"

"NO! I'm watching this…" Fred had settled himself on the couch and was ready for a few hours of 'couch potato-ing' with his favorite meals.

"Then what are they showing, huh?!" Todd got up to see what was on the TV at that moment.

"Umh, I'm not sure… I'm going to START watching it now." Fred was not giving in.

"Oh my God! It's THE WEATHER CHANNEL!… Freddy! Why are we watching The Weather Channel?!" Todd ran over to Pietro who was simply leaning against the table and mumbling something to himself.

"Pietro, did you see what Fred has us watching?… Pietro?" Todd was starring at his white-haired friend as he kept mumbling.

"So like, whatever… you know… bla bla bla… tee-hee, I look cute in pink, you know, bla bla bla…" Pietro stopped when he realized he was being watched. "Did you say something Todd?" 

"Umh, it's just that… Fred has us watching the Weather Channel…" Todd was scarred for his friends' sanity.

"Well GOOD! Maybe there's hurricane coming to Bayville and we don't even know it! Maybe it'll hit that mansion where thoseX-geeks live and it will send that annoying Kitty flying far, far away from here!!!"

Now Todd was scared for everyone's safety. "Right Pietro… right. Maybe you should sit down?"

"NO!… I'm fine. I'm making dinner." Pietro got up started opening the frozen chicken to stuff it into the microwave.

"Hey! I want some chicken!" Fred yelled from the living room.

"Didn't you make yourself a sandwich?" asked Pietro from the kitchen.

"That was my snack!"

Todd had to roll his eyes and beg for patience.

"Right!… Stupid question on my part Freddy, so sorry…" Pietro started to open the lasagna as well as he kept mumbling soft "like's" and "whatever's". Todd wondered if he should run.

Lance came down the stairs after a while and was greeted by the usual chaos that seemed to be a part of the Brotherhood's life style. He saw Todd screaming at Freddy and gesturing toward the TV. He assumed the young mutant was angry about how loud it was, he wasn't sure though he couldn't listen over the senseless noise coming from… The Weather Channel?

~~ Since when do we watch The Weather Channel? ~~ 

Lance looked over the kitchen where Pietro was destroying a helpless TV dinner box using a long pointed knife. 

~~ Ok…. I'm scared. ~~

Lance walked over to the kitchen but he didn't want to get too close to the speed demon. Who knows if he'd attack him with that knife. He tried to yell out to Pietro but he couldn't even hear his own voice over the TV's and Todd's combined. So he decided to stop the madness for at least a little while. Lance took the remote from Fred and hit the 'mute' button. 

Silence would've reigned in the Brotherhood's home for a little while if it wasn't for Pietro's voice taking over the kitchen.

"Like, whatever you know… bla, bla, … like totally cute, yeah… bla, bla, bla." Pietro suddenly felt the silence as he was now able to hear himself. He stopped babbling and turned around to look at the very worried faces of Lance, Todd and Fred.

"So… umh… dinner will be ready in five minutes!" Pietro, however, kept stabbing the poor box.

"Pietro?…" Lance tried to approach him.

"What?!" but the speed demon turned around rather too quickly holding the knife up and looking like a mass murderer.

"AH!… ok!..ok…. umh, give me the knife. The chicken is already dead Pietro. Otherwise it wouldn't be in the box." Lance carefully took the knife away from his demented friend and pushed it far away. "Did you drink caffeine again?"

"No, but maybe I should. What do you think?"

"NO!" answered both Fred and Todd. The last thing they needed was a hyperactive Pietro holding a knife.

"Pietro, what were you saying?" Fred was curious as to what on earth was going on inside his friend's head.

"Nothing… just babbling. Nothing important." Pietro took an apple as he waited for Lance to finish dinner. "I'm hungry, can you hurry up with that!"

"Pietro, you murdered the chicken!" said Lance as he looked over what was left for their dinner. 

"Thought you said it was already dead." Pietro taunted, then he noticed the three angry glares he received. "Oh… sorry…"

"You do not play with food!" Fred was always so passionate when it came to that subject.

"Yo man! What got you so upset anyway?" Todd wanted to know the reason behind mumbling words like: "cute" and "pink". If he didn't know now he would never get a good night's sleep.

"Nothing… it's just this stupid girl…" Immediately he regretted having said that.

"Ooooh, a giiiiiirl!" Fred was now making stupid faces at Pietro.

~~ Yeah Fat boy, something you'll never see. ~~

"Yo! Who is she man!? We gotta know!" Todd got closer expecting to hear the great secret.

"Lance! Get them away!" As if he was going to tell them…

"Are you nuts? I want to know too!" Lance leaned in next to Todd.

"Oh come on! Guys! Dinner! We have to make dinner! Freddy, don't you want to eat now?"

"I'll wait" Miracles do happen! Fred will wait for a meal!

"It's nothing….. guys!!!…. it's just this stupid girl that's driving me crazy! It's as if the sole purpose of her existence is to make my life difficult! I don't want to talk about. I just want to forget that she exists! She's always bouncing and giggling and acting like an idiot! I don't want to talk about her anymore. And I swear that if she blinks at me not understanding what I say one more time, I'm going to kill her! Now that's it! No more! Go away!"

"Yeah, I can see you don't want to talk about her…" Todd wanted to know her name though.

"Alright, alright… relax Pietro. How old is she anyway?" Lance continued to salvage the chicken.

"She's a freshman. Why?" Pietro didn't know if that was too much information for his friends.

"Well,… maybe she really DOES like you and she's annoying you to get your attention. You know how little kids like that are." Lance decided to open the lasagna and place it in the microwave.

"HEY! I'm a freshman and I am NOT a little kid!" Todd crossed his arms over his chest as he slumped on his chair.

"Of course you're not Toddy." Pietro patted him a few times on the head and gave him a smile. He decided he was safe from the questioning so he took another apple and headed toward Fred who was watching TV. As he sat down on the couch he noticed a most bizarre thing.

"Hey… since when do we watch The Weather Channel?" 

*************************************************************

Tuesdays had to be the worst day of the week. Mondays were always bad, but you still remember what that peaceful Sunday was like. Wednesday was the middle of the week so the count down till weekend started, Thursdays you couldn't wait for Fridays and on Fridays you couldn't wait for school to be over. But Tuesdays… there was no hope for Tuesdays. 

Kitty Pryde was busy doodling in her science notebook on her last class for the day as the teacher kept talking about 'who knows what'. Usually she would pay attention, but she really wanted to run like mad out of school today. She had decided to skip rehearsal today, she couldn't face Pietro again, he was too annoying. She figured she'd learn her lines on her own and when she had to act with Pietro she'd pretend it was someone else. That sounded easy. She could just see Claudia screaming at her tomorrow,… but she needed to skip today. It was life or death!

"Miss Pryde, are you alright?"

~~ Oh no! Teacher! ~~

"Umm, yes. I'm ok.

"Then perhaps answering my question would be a good idea."

~~ I... I… I really don't like you! ~~

"And like, what question was that Ma'am?" Kitty smiled sweetly at her teacher, she didn't normally get into trouble so maybe the teacher would be nice to her.

"Maybe if you'd stop drawing Ms. Pryde, you'd know. But study those doodles, they might come on the test."

Kitty could feel her face burn as she heard the class's laughter.

~~ Ok, now I really don't like you! ~~

Luckily for her the bell rang at that moment and she was finally free from evil science. All she wanted was to run for Scott's car as fast as she could. Once there she noticed the others were chatting and talking away, except for Rogue of course, so she decided to ask for some company.

"So like, who wants to go to the mall with me?" she asked as she flashed them a smile.

"Kitty, don't you have rehearsal now?" that was Jean.

"Yeah, but I like, need a break. It's just for today, don't worry about it."

"Well, I have a lot of homework today Kitty, maybe tomorrow?" 

"Oh, it's alright Jean, don't worry. So, anybody else?"

They had something to do. It was either homework or practicing in the Danger Room. Scott said she should practice too, but she quickly took his mind off that idea.

"Like, I need a break Scott. A Break! Going into the Danger Room does NOT qualify as a break."

"Ok, ok." Said the reluctant leader of the X-men as they were heading toward the mall to drop Kitty off.

Once there Scott gave her the usual instruction: not to stay till too late and to call for Kurt to teleport back to the mansion. After that Kitty was free! Free to wonder inside every store. It was heaven! She realized she really needed to escape the routine of school and homework, and specially of seeing Pietro everyday.

Kitty saw a few stores but didn't buy anything. In truth she had very little money, she just wanted to walk around for a while. As she turned a corner though she realized relaxing in this place was also going to be hard. 

She landed hard on the ground after having bumped into someone who was apparently late for something.

"Like, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" Kitty looked up to see the face of Pietro Maximoff.

End Chapter 4


	5. A Lovers Feud part 5

A Lovers Feud

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 5**

That's what he needed. Some time off somewhere where he would not bump into any annoying people. Anywhere near school was out of the question so Pietro Maximoff decided to try to go to the mall. 

Most of the time the mall would also be filled with annoying students, but not on a Tuesday. 

~~ Tuesdays have got to be the worst day of the week. ~~ he thought as he walked around looking aimlessly at the different stores. He wasn't going to buy anything so in order to kill time he thought he'd go and watch a movie. Only problem was he had to hurry if he wanted to catch it from the beginning. 

Going fast was not a problem for the white-haired boy, but he couldn't just run at his usual speed in front of all these people, so he ran as fast as 'normal' would allow. Only problem was, he didn't watch out for corners and right before he could stop he found himself on the hard floor along with the other shopper he had knocked down.

"Like, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" That voice. That cute little girl voice. He knew who that was. Pietro looked up and right into the blue eyes of one Kitty Pryde.

Seems she was just as surprised to see him.

"What most I do to get rid of you?!" Pietro couldn't believe he had bumped into her here of all places.

"Like, get rid of me? I thought I was getting rid of you! What are you like, doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be with Claudia?"

"I could ask you the same thing Kitten." 

"Don't call me that!" She hated to be called that. She would only allow it for a friend, but definitely NOT Pietro Maximoff.

"Ah! But it's a cute name. Thought you liked anything that was cute." Pietro didn't know why he was teasing her, but he was enjoying himself.

"I don't find it cute and I don't like it when you call me that!" 

"Fine, whatever Kitten…" Pietro got up and started to brush some dust off himself before turning back to Kitty. He then offered his hand to her.

"What?" she asked looking up at him.

"Well, you're not planning on staying on the floor now are you?"

"Oh… fine, ok." She took his hand and was immediately dragged back up. She looked at him for a while, she hadn't expected for him to care either way.

~~ Why did I do that? ~~ Pietro hadn't expected himself to care either. ~~ She bumped into ME! Why should I help her up? Oh too late to think THAT Maximoff… ~~

"So, you've practiced your lines?" Pietro didn't know what else to talk about with Kitty around. The young X-men looked at him for a while then answered sheepishly.

"Umm, not yet… I really should practice them but… it's kind of hard, you know."

"I did write a lot of lines, didn't I? Guess I had a big muse that day." He smiled to himself thinking back on that night when he had practically written that whole play from scratch. 

~~ He looks kinda cute when he smiles like that… OK, that bump did something! ~~ Kitty was NOT going to be thinking like THAT toward the enemy.

"Hey, how did you come up with all of that anyway? It's all very… romantic, you know. Didn't think you had it in you."

Pietro gave her his 'prince charming' type of smile as he answered her.

"There are lots of things you don't know about me Kitty." 

~~ WOW! Stop!…I'm not hitting on an X-men!!!… Eeeewww! ~~ Pietro had to remind himself that although she was a girl she was the type of girl he was never, ever going to date. He better save his lines for someone he could go out with.

"Anyway… I was going to go catch a movie, maybe if you're not doing anything you'd like to go with me?" 

~~ This is for the sake of the play! THE SAKE OF THE PLAY! ~~ Pietro couldn't believe he had asked her, but he was sure she would say no, after all hadn't they both met at the mall because they were trying to get away from each other?

"Umm, well… sure. Like, why not? I was just looking around. Didn't have anything to like do and stuff. So, umm, which movie are we watching?"

~~ Did I just say 'yes'? … Stupid! ~~

~~ Did she just say 'yes'?… Stupid! ~~

"Ok…. Umm, I don't know. I was going to see what they have on… so umm, lets go then." Pietro could've slapped himself.

******************************************************

"Thank you Ma'am, have a nice day." Lance was NOT a happy person. Not only did his after school job sucked, but he also had to be all nice to everyone. And unfortunately for him, his job basically had him dealing with annoying little kids all the time. 

And just were was Lance working? … "Little Washu's Candy Factory"!!! 

~~ We have everything for your tooth-decaying needs! ~~ Lance was not happy.

He had been serving child after annoying child. Some wanted all chocolate and quickly changed their minds to all caramel. Others wanted everything in the little store and started to cry where their parents said no.

~~ Ok, that's it! I'm never going to marry! I'm never going to be a dad! ~~ 

Lance didn't think his day could be anything worse. Until he saw them…

****************************************************

"No way!… he didn't really do that?!" Pietro couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Oh, like totally! Evan broke practically everything inside the Professor's office when he sneezed. Good thing we all ducked in time, those spikes of his are too dangerous."

"HAHAHA!… Man, the look on his face must've been priceless!" 

"It sure was! Jean had a camera in her room and Kurt teleported and got it just in time. I could bring you the picture if you want?"

"Oh man! Could you?! That'd be so cool! … You know, that reminds me of the time Todd had 'borrowed' a camera and I took it and started to take surprise pictures of everyone. I had a few of Mystique,… but those mysteriously disappeared… Anyway, I still have one of Lance when he had just come out of the bathroom wearing only a towel and when he saw me with the camera he got so angry that he tried to catch me and instead ended falling down the stairs. Todd and Fred laughed over that picture for about a week." Pietro was having fun talking about his many pranks on his friends. Kitty seemed to be enjoying them too.

"Tell me you've got THAT picture around! I'd like totally want to see it!" 

"I'll find it for you. If Lance didn't already and burned it or something… man, he looked so funny! He had this 'I'm incredibly pissed at you' look on his face." Pietro was laughing so hard, he didn't remember when was the last time he found something so funny. He would've gladly kept laughing if it hadn't been for the sight before him.

"Hahaha…hah…eh…. Oh no….. hi Lance."

"Hello there kiddies…" Lance managed to get out of the little store for at least five minutes and find out what Pietro was up to. Of course, hearing them talk about that horrible experience with Todd's 'borrowed' camera was not making him very happy.

"Any more hilarious stories you'd like to share Maximoff?"

"Well, I was working my way to the time Freddy sat on you, but I guess that one will have to wait."

Kitty tried to hide behind Pietro when she noticed Lance. Not that she was really hiding, he knew she was there, she just didn't want to see him.

"Aren't supposed to be in rehearsal Pietro?"

"Got cancelled."

"So instead you decide to have a trip to the mall?"

"Yes, I find that it sooths me." He gave the older mutant a mischievous smile.

"With her?" Lance pointed at the still 'hiding' Kitty behind Pietro.

"Long story Lance… just too long. Say, I didn't know your part-time job was in the mall! Which store do you work at?" It was time to change the subject!

"Umm, I'm not telling you! Then you'll bug me every day!"

Suddenly the three mutants heard someone calling for Lance.

"Hey Alvers! We need you!"

"Is that like, 'Little Washu's Candy Factory'?" Kitty spoke for the first time.

"OH! LANCE! THAT'S SO CUTE!!! Go on now! Put your little apron on!" Yep, Pietro was having fun.

"One word! Just one word out of any of you and you're DEAD!"

"ALVERS!" shouted the persistent voice.

"I'm coming! Coming!" Lance took Pietro by the arm and dragged him away from Kitty. "Get rid of that X-men and go home Pietro."

"But I'm going to watch a movie!" No way was he missing this!

"Do whatever you want, just get rid of her!"

"Whatever… hey, your apron is waiting."

"Shut up!"

******************************************************

Kitty found that talking to Pietro was easy. She had been so scared with this whole 'Brotherhood vs. X-men' business that she didn't realized they were just two kids going to school together.

She was now resting in the room she shared with Rogue thinking back on everything that happened that day. After they encountered Lance working at'Little Washu's Candy Factory' they had bothered him for about 15 minutes so he'd give them free candy. It worked, but then of course it had to. Nobody could withstand Pietro's whining for too long. After that they went to the movies as planed and she found he was a very funny guy. He was also kind of nice, not once did he say or do anything she might've expected a Brotherhood member to do. Maybe that play of theirs had some hope yet.

"Hey Kitty, why you laughing?" Rogue was sitting on her bed reading some novel she had borrowed.

"Umm,… oh, like never mind. Just being silly. Say Rogue, do you remember where that picture we took of Evan after he sneezed in the Professors office is? I kind of need it."

"I don't remember, maybe Kurt has it. Why do you need it now?"

"Just going to show a friend."

~~ Since when is he a 'friend'? ~~

"Whatever… look, let's turn the lights out. I want to sleep." And with that Rogue left her book on her night table and got under her covers.

~~ How nice to like, have a bossy roommate. ~~

Kitty turned off the lights and started thinking about Pietro and how he had surprised her. She wasn't expecting him to act so… normal. Rogue used to live with them, right? Maybe she could tell her something else about Pietro. Evan wasn't going to give her any good reviews, that's for sure.

"Hey, Rogue?"

"I'm sleeping." She didn't bother to even look at Kitty.

"Like, not yet you aren't. It's a simple question you know!"

"What?" Rogue wasn't going to talk much.

"Like, what were the Brotherhood like? You know, before you left?"

This got Rogue's attention. She turned around to face her roommate and turned on the small night-light at her table.

"Why you want to know?"

"Well, I was like, curious… were they fun to be around with?"

"I guess they were. You can't get anything serious out of four guys that act like three year olds. Why are you so interested in them?"

"Cause, you know… I was just thinking that they're kids like us. Why most we be fighting each other, right?"

"Cause Mystique won't cut them loose, and she aint no 'kid like us'. She's the one we're fighting against, but she uses them to do it. Now I'd feel sorry for the Brotherhood if this was only Mystique's fault but they willingly agreed to fight for her. That means they're as much to blame as she is. So stop worrying over them and get some sleep."

Rogue turned around once again and turned off the light.

"Do you think Pietro was a nice guy?" Kitty had to ask this. 

"What?" All Rogue wanted was some sleep!

"Quicksilver, did you think he was nice while you were in the Brotherhood?"

"Kitty, I wouldn't know. He arrived a few days before I left them. Ask Evan, he should know him better."

"Right… ok, like thanks Rogue."

"Yeah, yeah… now let's sleep."

Rogue didn't know she was leaving a very troubled Kitty. Should she continue talking to Pietro even if he was one of the 'bad' guys? She thought she'd give him the benefit of the doubt, after all they had a play to finish.

*****************************************************

"Where is the cereal?!" Pietro was hungry and his favorite breakfast was nowhere to be found.

"I think Freddy ate it." Todd said trying to be helpful.

"Great! Fantastic!… now what do we have for breakfast?" Pietro was busy looking inside the fridge when Lance came down the stairs.

"So, what's for breakfast?" asked Lance rubbing some sleep off his eyes.

"Gee, whatever Fred hasn't eaten would be fine!" Pietro didn't bother to look at Lance.

"Ok, whose turn was it to go shopping?" Lance looked at Todd as the younger mutant held his hands up defensively.

"No way yo! I did it last time!" said Todd as he finished his sorry looking breakfast.

"Well, I went before you did, which leaves… Pietro! You forgot the groceries, didn't you?!" 

"Huh?" Pietro looked up now and saw both Lance and Todd looking at him. "It was MY turn! I could've sworn it was Todd's."

"Nice try Maximoff. I went last time." Todd placed his dirty bowl in the sink and headed toward the stairs. "I'm going to wake Freddy up! Be right back."

"Ok, ok… I'll go after school. I'll need some money though." Pietro looked at Lance for support.

"What? Me?… no way! My paycheck is for other things. Drop by Mystique's after school and tell her we need groceries. She has to understand that."

"But she had already given us money for groceries."

"And now they're gone, we need more. Does she think Freddy eats like a delicate lady or something? I'm surprised we didn't run out of food sooner."

"Yeah, ok… so what do I eat now?"

"How am I supposed to know…. Listen Pietro, what did you do with that X-men yesterday?" Lance was leaning against the stove as Pietro kept looking through the fridge.

"I got rid of her, like you said." He didn't want to talk about this. "So,… 'Little Washu's Candy Factory'? How you end up working there?"

"Shut up! Did you tell anyone? I swear I'll…"

"Oh relax, I haven't told. Yet anyway… that apron was adorable. And you get to bring us free candy everyday!" Pietro liked that idea very much.

"I don't think do… if they catch me stealing I lose my job, and I need it right now. And there's no way I'm giving you chocolate, you're bouncy enough as it is. I almost got into trouble for giving you chocolates yesterday you know!"

"Oh! That's right! I have some left in my room!… later!" and with that Pietro was gone up the stairs.

"Oh God! You're not going to have THAT for breakfast, are you?!"

*********************************************************

Todd wanted to kill someone… namely the white-haired pest next to him. The Brotherhood was at lunch already and he had been the 'lucky' one to end up having to sit besides Pietro. Seemed the effects of the chocolate hadn't worn off yet.

"AndthenthatMr.Smithkepttalking&talkingaboutwhoknowswhatandIwasn'tfallingasleep,causeIreally couldn't…."

"Lance, make him STOP!" Todd was about to lose his mind.

"Sorry… don't know how." Lance would've laughed at his friend's predicament of having to sit next to a sugar high Pietro, but the truth was he was beginning to get annoyed himself. 

"Maybe if we stuff his face with food?" Fred was trying to shut him up too. He thought he was going to go mad.

"Nah, tried that already. He eats too fast." Todd thought they could always tie him up and gag him… but they would have to catch him first… and that was always a problem with Quicksilver. 

"Ok… let me try something…" Lance got up and grabbed Pietro by his shoulders and started to shake him.

"PIETRO! SHUT THE HELL UP!" Todd & Fred couldn't believe they hadn't thought of that sooner.

Pietro had in fact become silent… but that only lasted for about three seconds.

"WhatdoyoumeanSHUTUP!Iwanttotalksomemoreandyoucan'tstopme!" and Pietro went on and on and on…

"Ok, that didn't work…" Lance sat down again and continued eating.

"So now I'm stuck with his ranting like this? I don't think so!" Todd got up and headed out of the cafeteria.

"Todd, where are you going?" Fred knew Lance would find a way to get rid of their little speed demon, and if Todd left that meant HE would have him. "Come back!"

"I'm going anywhere where Pietro is not… I'll see you guys later." And with that Todd was gone.

"Ok Freddy… I have one more idea!" Lance got up and dragged both Pietro and Fred with him.

*********************************************************

Pietro Maximoff couldn't believe his luck. Some friends he had! He was going to develop claustrophobia and it was all their fault!

~~ When I get my hands on those two! How dare they lock me up in my own locker! ~~

Pietro kept moving around trying to find a way out. If normally this situation would've been annoying, now that he was still subjected to a sugar high it was practically intolerable. He thought he'd go mad if he wasn't let out of that locker!!

~~ Let me out! LET ME OUT! I NEED AIR!!!…. LET ME OUT!!…~~

"Pietro? Is that you?" came the voice of a surprised (and happy?) young boy.

~~ Oooooh no!…. Not him! ~~

"Evan?" Of all the stupid people in this school…

"How you get in there man?" Evan couldn't believe it! He had none other then Pietro Maximoff stuck inside a locker.

"I liquefied myself and came in through the cracks! What do you think smart-ass?! Now open the door!"

"I don't think I like your tone of voice Maximoff…" Evan was having a good day.

"AAAAAahhhh!" Pietro was not.

Outside the locker Pietro could hear another voice. Maybe this other person could get him out.

"Evan, what are you doing? Scott is waiting." Kurt was a little worried about his friend after seeing him talking to a locker. "Are you ok?"

"Better then ok man! Look who I've got here!" Evan pointed to the locker.

"Yeah… that's good Evan… why don't we go to the Professor to examine your head." Kurt was scared.

"No man! Look!…" Evan kicked the locker. "Say something! Come on!"

Kurt wondered when his friend's sanity had left him.

"Ok Evan, so now lockers can talk… that's fine. I've got a Calculus book that tells the best stories.

"What?" Evan didn't understand what his friend was saying. "Calculus book? What are you talking about?"

"HONESTLY DANIELS! YOU ARE SUCH A MORON!" Pietro couldn't deal with it anymore!

"AAAAAAAHHH!!!!" Kurt teleported away from the talking locker.

"Both of you are such losers!" Great! Pietro was stuck with two X-geeks who had helium inside their brains.

"Pietro? Is that you?" Kurt teleported back next to Evan.

"No Blue boy, it's the locker fairy. Now get me out!"

"How did you get in there?" Kurt tried not to laugh at Pietro since Evan was doing such a good job of that, but this was too much.

Pietro couldn't believe this was happening to him. He was so going to kill Lance and Freddy. Evan was trying to catch his breath but another round of giggles escaped him when another voice filled the hallway.

"What are you guys doing here? Scott's waiting for you all." Said Rogue as she came up to the hysterically laughing Evan. 

~~ Why me? ~~ Pietro was going to be late for class if he didn't find a way out.

"Well Rogue, Evan seems to have stumbled upon quite a finding." Said Kurt as he pointed to the locker.

"A locker?" Rogue didn't want to waste her time like this.

"No! Here, let me show you. Talk!… Talk you!" Kurt was screaming at the locker.

"Ok, I always knew you were weird Blue boy, I just never realized how much." Rogue was slowly backing away.

"No! It's not that! Wait a moment Rogue!…. TALK! COME ON!" Kurt kicked the locker while Evan was laughing on the floor.

~~ Bunch of morons… ~~ Pietro couldn't wait to get out. Maybe Rogue might be a better help.

"Hey ROGUE!… Get me out!!!"

"AAAAHHH!! That locker just talked!"

~~ Oh Rogue! Not you too! ~~ Pietro always thought hanging around with those X-geeks made you stupid. Now he was sure.

"Pietro? How did you get in there?" Rogue got closer to the Kurt and tried not to step on the laughing Evan on the ground.

"Ok listen! I'm not answering that question again! Now open this door! I need to get out! There's not enough AIR!!!" Pietro was going crazy with these guys.

"Cool it Maximoff… the locker has cracks, so you're not suffocating anytime soon unfortunately." Rogue just crossed her arms and waited to see what Kurt and Evan were going to do with their new capture.

"You can't do this to me! I have rights you know! Get me OUT!!!!!!" Pietro tried counting to 100 to calm down, but he did it so fast he was done in two seconds… and he was still angry.

"Like, what's going on? Everyone is like waiting for you guys, you know." Kitty walked over to see what was so funny that had Evan on the floor with tears of laughter.

~~ Oh no… not her. ~~ Pietro thought he was doomed to spend the rest of his young life inside that locker.

"Here Kitty, let me show you. Talk!" Kurt was talking to a locker.

"Ooookay." Kitty seriously needed to get other friends.

"Oh for crying out loud Kurt! Stop it!… Kitty, Evan found Pietro trapped inside his locker." Rogue wasn't going to play this crazy 'guess what's inside the locker' game with Kitty.

"Like, No way!" Kitty moved closer to said locker to see if it was true.

"Tell me YOU'RE going to get me out." Pietro was hoping Kitty had more sense then the others.

"Like, How did you get in there?" Kitty asked smiling at the poor white-haired boy.

~~ So much for sense… ~~

"Kitty!! Come on!!!" Pietro thought he'd die inside the small locker.

"Like, ok. Stop complaining." Kitty opened the door and a sudden rush of windy was felt. When they looked back the locker was empty.

"Aw man! Kitty, why you open the door?" Evan had gotten over his laughing fit.

"Like, what did you want Evan? To let him stay there forever?"

"Or as close to it as it could!" Suddenly Evan felt a rush of cold-water land on him.

Soon after Evan both Kurt and Rogue were all drenching wet, all of them looked at Kitty who was still dry.

"Why aren't YOU wet?" asked Kurt through chattering teeth.

"Maybe cause I actually HELPED him." Kitty knew the guys wouldn't have left Pietro in there for too long, she just wasn't sure when exactly they would've left him out.

The bell decided to right at that moment to begin their afternoon classes and the halls filled again with all the students who were going to get their books. Some of them gave uneasy glances at the three soaking wet students.

**********************************************************

The school day was finally over and Pietro was glad for it. His sugar-high had left him after that whole incident with the locker. He had a few things to discuss with his friends after he got home.

Now he had to ask Mystique for more money for groceries. Pietro could imagine 100 different places he'd rather be right now. He decided he needed some energy before visiting their dear Principal from Hell. He went to a vending machine and looked at the biggest temptation of his life. A can of COKE. 

If a few pieces of chocolate during the morning kept him jumpy for hours he didn't want to imagine how he'd get after one full coke.

~~ Maybe if I just drink a little bit it wont take such effect… ~~ 

Pietro placed his money inside the horrible machine and in return it gave him a liquid of pure energy. He slowly opened the can and looked at it for a while. He could handle it, of course he could! There was nothing Pietro Maximoff couldn't handle.

He took a small taste. It was rather nice, just a little more… but he was so fast he didn't notice he had just drank the entire can in two seconds. He still felt thirsty.

~~ Maybe a second can won't hurt… ~~

*******************************************************

Principal Darkholme was a very busy woman. Students who needed detention, teachers who didn't hand in grades when they were supposed to, World domination for the Mutant species… so much to do, so little time.

She would've gladly transformed herself into a bird and fly away from the never ending paper work, but just then the sound of her secretary's voice rang from the speaker.

"Ms. Darkholme, you have a student here to see you."

"I'm busy." The last thing she needed was another annoying student in her office.

"He says it's important. His name is Pietro Maximoff ma'am and well…. He's jumping around the office and scarring people."

~~ Oh dear God! ~~ Mystique already had a headache.

"Fine. Send him in and hold my calls."

"Yes ma'am."

Soon after that the white haired youth ran into the room and to everyone's surprised gave Mystique a big hug.

"What are you doing?" Mystique wanted him off!

"I don't know!" Pietro smiled. After three cans of coke he realized he had an urge for affection. He just wanted to run and jump and hug everyone. Inside, his brain was slapping itself for allowing those three cans of Coke to get into his system.

"What do you want Quicksilver? And STOP HUGGING ME!" ~~Why do I have to be nice to this one?… oh yes… Magnus' favorite… ~~

"Well…. Turns out Freddy is eating us out of house and home so we need more money for groceries!" Pietro was still smiling and hugging Mystique.

"Didn't I gave you money for that not too long ago?… and stop hugging me!"

"Yeah, but Freddy's not helping us stay on budget."

"Oh very well… let me write you a check." Mystique tried to move. "Pietro, now you should really let go of me."

"Oh, yeah… sorry." He let go but was still smiling. He began to jump around the room as his Principal was writing the check.

"It's a blank check Pietro. Go buy the groceries and later tell me how much you spent. Got that?"

"Yes ma'am." Said a bouncing Pietro.

"And no buying ridiculous items!" Last time Pietro had insisted on going into a Practical Joke store.

"Yes ma'am." Pietro was still bouncing.

"You're not on drugs, are you?"

"No ma'am." Still bouncing.

"Then why are you like that?" Mystique just wanted him to stop.

"Drank caffeine ma'am." (You guessed it!) Still bouncing. 

"Oh…. Now get out." He was giving her a headache.

"Yes ma'am." Pietro hugged her again and then ran off like a lunatic.

"Have to talk to Magnus about that…" Mystique went off to find some Tylenols.

*************************************************

Claudia wanted to hurt someone. Not only had both her lead actors decided not to show up the day before for rehearsals, but now she was missing her male lead. 

The other actors and stage crew tried very hard to keep away from her.

"Where is he?" Claudia needed to see her two actors practicing their lines. She hoped they were better then last time.

"Like, don't worry so much. He came to school today you know, and he like totally knows his lines." Kitty was trying to save Pietro from Claudia's evil glares.

"Maybe Pryde, but if he doesn't know how to act them with you then it's not worth it. By the way, have you two decided to stop fighting. You know we can't run a play like this!"

"Oh like totally… I don't think we're going to be fighting you know. All we needed was to get a little better acquainted." Kitty wasn't exactly sure of what she was saying, but after their time together at the mall and the whole locker incident this afternoon she didn't think Pietro would hate her.

Just then the small room filled with light as the door opened to reveal Pietro Maximoff… jumping toward them? Most of the students were giving him weary glances.

"Umm, Maximoff… are you alright?" Claudia was concerned.

"Never better! Never Better!" Pietro had stopped jumping now and was looking between the two girls.

"Ok… so, let's begin shall we. Since we've already tried the first scene let's try something else. How about page eleven? That's when you both realized you love each other more then anything in the world… that type of thing."

Pietro still felt hyper but he tried to calm himself a bit. He turned to Kitty now who was patiently waiting for Pietro to say his lines.

"Why did you help me?" 

Kitty wasn't expecting this.

"What?… Oh, you mean with the locker? Well, I wasn't going to let you stay in there forever you know."

"Yeah well… you know, you didn't have to. I was going to get out by myself."

"I know." Kitty smiled at him. Why was she so nice to him all of a sudden? Sure, they had fun at the mall the other day but he didn't expect her to change this much.

"I… I had fun yesterday, you know." Kitty wanted to know if he had fun too, then maybe all this fighting between their teams could stop.

"Yeah? … Glad you did. I had a good time too. Maybe we should do it again soon."

~~ OK, that was the sugar talking! ~~ Pietro couldn't believe he had just said that.

~~ Oh well,… this kid isn't as bad as those other X-losers; I can at least carry a conversation with her. ~~ 

Kitty wasn't expecting him to ask her out like that; then again she wasn't expecting him to be this cheerful either. Pietro seemed nicer and much… cuter now for some reason.

"Like, yeah… whenever it's fine by you." Now, if only the rest of the Brotherhood were this nice.

"Well… I see your time out yesterday was not wasted." Claudia had to smile. Those two seemed to hate each other to death last time, now they were so nice. There was hope for this play yet.

"Oh shut up Claudia." Pietro started to read over his script, then he cleared his throat and began his lines as he took Kitty's hands into his.

"My love… if you only knew how much I care for you. How deeply knowing you has affected my life. When you're not near I'm in pain and when you are I suffer because I wish I could hold you, but I cannot."

Kitty looked deeply into Pietro's eyes and said her lines almost like she was living them herself.

"And why do you believe you cannot? You have not asked yet and so you don't know if I wish for the same. What if I also wished to be with you, but couldn't? Simply because I did not know if you felt the same way."

Pietro drew closer to Kitty now.

"So is that to say my dear, that you love me the same way I love you?"

"Yes…"

Now came the part of the kiss. Pietro knew this and so did Kitty but neither of them moved.

~~ Like he's not going to kiss me for real? Is he? ~~ Kitty knew he had to, it was part of the play, but maybe he wouldn't do it right now. Maybe they would talk about it later and realize they could do the scene without the kissing.

Meanwhile, Pietro was busy with his own thoughts.

~~ Should I kiss her? Maybe not … but why not?! I have to do it, don't I? It's just for the play. It's nothing serious! And besides… I've been standing here reciting a love scene while under the giddy influences of three caffeine-full Cokes!… I'm going for it! ~~

Kitty suddenly felt a light pressure over her mouth and realized it came from Pietro's lips against hers.

*********************************************************

End Chapter5

So…. Tell me what you think. ^_^


	6. Con Amore!

Sorry to make you guys wait

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 6**

~~ No way! ~~ Kitty just stood there in shock feeling Pietro's lips against hers. But after a while she began kissing back. It wasn't so bad. Pietro was very gentle with her; it made her feel nice inside. They both closed their eyes and for a moment forgot the world around them.

"That was excellent! It's the best acting I've ever seen!" Claudia was extremely happy! Her main actors weren't just going to 'get along' they were giving the best performance of their lives. Claudia stopped when she heard the snickering and giggling of the other students. She looked at them and then back at her lead actors and immediately knew why they were laughing. Pietro and Kitty had apparently 'liked' this scene a lot more then she thought. They hadn't broken the kiss yet.

"Well… Maximoff I think Pryde may want to breath now." Claudia tried not to laugh.

The two mutants broke the kiss rather reluctantly and stared at each other. The same thoughts were cruising through their minds, they both weren't expecting to kiss and once it started neither of them expected to like it… but they had. 

"Yeah, yeah… so, how did you like the scene?" Pietro looked at Claudia now but everyone noticed how his cheeks had suddenly flushed to a bright crimson.

Kitty for her part wasn't saying anything, but her cheeks too looked a strong shade of pink.

The rest of the rehearsal went rather quietly after that. The other students said their lines while either Pietro or Kitty answered. Once it was all over Claudia congratulated them for their great performance and told them that whatever they had done to make it like this, to keep it coming. They both blushed again after that.

******************************************************

"KITTY! I swear, if you don't come out of that bathroom right now I'm gonna really do some damage to this door!" Rogue wasn't a very patient person but the young freshman had been in there for almost an hour! Even Jean was starting to get anxious.

"Maybe she's not feeling well?… Kitty, it's me Jean. Are you alright?"

"Yeah! Like, just a minute!" yelled Kitty from the other side of the door.

"You mean aside from the other 60 minutes you've already had? … Other people need to use these bathrooms you know." Rogue leaned against the door waiting when she suddenly felt something going through her… or rather someone.

Kitty just phased through the door and right through Rogue in order to get out of the bathroom.

"Like, sorry I took so long. It's all yours now." Kitty had this smile on her face that made her look like the happiest person alive.

"Kitty, did something happen today? You look so… so, happy." Jean wanted to find out from Kitty herself and not by reading her thoughts.

"Like, no… nothing out of the ordinary. Just another glorious school day!" and with that she phased through her door and into her room.

"That girl aint telling us something Jean." Not even Rogue had ever seen Kitty this giddy… and she was used to the girl's extremely optimistic nature.

"Maybe… she'll tell us soon I guess." Jean took a step toward the bathroom when suddenly Rogue flew by her and locked herself inside.

"HEY! It was my turn Rogue!" Jean stood out in the hall with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry…" was all that came from the locked bathroom.

******************************************************

Pietro, Todd and Lance were in the supermarket now getting the necessary groceries. They decided to leave Freddy since the huge mutant would've probably gone mad seeing all these food products.

All the way through the supermarket Lance and Todd had been giving each other meaningful glances. Pietro was acting weird. He had been humming this sweet little tune all the way in the car, he was actually walking with them instead of running all around the supermarket getting everything he wanted and he stopped to look at some flowers. That last one had scared them both.

"Umm,… Pietro, are you alright?" Lance was picking up some cereal now.

"Yeah… never better!" the white haired boy was looking for his favorite cereal.

"You seem kind of… peaceful. Somehow you've never been like that before." Todd thought his friend might be sick or something. He had never seen Pietro sick, so maybe this is what happened… he slowed down.

"Sure I've been peaceful before!… Come on Lance, remind Todd of a time I was peaceful." Pietro still couldn't find his cereal.

"You know I would… except I haven't seen you THIS peaceful before either. Did something happen today at school?… Oh my God! Pietro, are you taking something?!" Lance eyes were huge when he asked this.

"Are you on drugs?!" Todd asked.

"Oh geez! No!… why does everyone keep asking me that?!… Can't I simply be peaceful once in a while?" Pietro couldn't find his cereal, so he took his best two other choices.

"OK… just wondering. Hey, can we buy this much cereal?" Todd looked over their cart and noticed they had around five different brands.

"Sure! We have a blank check." Lance wondered how on Earth did Pietro get such a precious gift from Mystique. He guessed Mystique must've had a headache and simply to get Pietro off her case she'd give him anything.

The young boys kept buying things they would've normally thought twice about, but it wasn't everyday they got the chance to spend any amount of money. They almost had their cart full when Pietro stumbled across the chocolate section.

"Oh no! You're not buying anything from there!" Lance tried to block Pietro's view of the chocolates.

"Oh come on! They're not for me!… get out of the way Lance!" Pietro was actually thinking of a pretty young brunettewho might appreciate the gift.

"Then who are they for?" Todd asked looking bewildered, then he flashed Pietro a mischievous smile. "I'm sorry man, you're just not my type." Todd grinned.

"Ew! Shut up Toad! They're not for you! Like, that's just like, totally gross you know!"

Lance and Todd stopped what they were doing and looked at their friend. Not even Pietro himself believed he had just said that.

"Pietro, did you just sound like a Valley Girl?" asked Todd pointing at him.

"NO!… you guys just heard wrong."

~~ Who talks like that? ~~ Lance was busy thinking of where else on this Earth had he listened to someone talking that way before. Right now that memory didn't wish to surface.

"Come on Lance! Move! Just one box of chocolates, nothing more! Promise!" Pietrowould've simply run past his older friend, but Lance was holding on to his arm. It seemed the only way to stop the speed demon, but only for a short while.

"No! You know how annoying you get while on a sugar high. There's no way you're buying that!" Lance thought he had won the argument until Pietro whispered his next words into his ear.

"Let me buy it or I'll tell everyone about your cute little apron at "Little Washu's Candy Factory"!"

"Ok… just ONE box." Lance was beaten.

"Are you nuts Lance! What are you doing?!… I'm not sitting next to him at lunch again!" Todd didn't want to deal with a sugar-high Quicksilver.

After buying everything they needed they headed back home to put the groceries away while taking special care to hide their favorite things from Fred. Once in his room Pietro took the box of chocolates and wondered if it was the right idea to give this to Kitty. They had only kissed once, and it had all been because the play demanded it. Still… he had liked it. Maybe she had liked it too… so he was going to present her this little peace offering in hopes that… that what? That she likes him back? That wouldn't change the fact that she was an X-men and he belonged to the Brotherhood.

~~ Maybe she'll join us the way Rogue joined them… yeah right Maximoff, not happening! ~~ Still,…Pietro could always hope that whatever he had with the young freshman was at least going to last a little longer.

************************************************************

For some reason school on Thursday didn't seem so bad. Pietro had woken up earlier then Lance and had made breakfast for the entire Brotherhood. It basically consisted of weird shaped pancakes and toasts, but it was something no one was expecting.

The classes that day seemed easier for some reason too, even Mr. Smith's evil 'right-before-lunch' class. Pietro was awake during the whole thing, a never before seen event. 

The whole day was turning out to be rather good and sometimes Pietro had to stop himself from smiling too much. He knew his friends were already giving him weird looks, but he couldn't stop this oblivious-to-everything mood he had on. Of course, that all stopped when the last bell for school rang and all the students ran to their lockers to drop off books and then ran even faster home.

Pietro was in front of his still closed locker while Todd and Fred waited for Lance to show up.

"Oh man! I can't wait to go home!" Fred always loved to go straight home the day after the others had gone to buy groceries, which meant it was now his turn to make some of that food disappear.

"Of course you can't. You're going home to eat, I'm going to study yo!" Todd was still not over his tests and he had to get a good enough grade so his summer wouldn't be spent back in school.

"Well, that's not my fault!" said Fred as he ate a bag of chips. "Hey Pietro, don't you have to go to rehearsals now?" He had been wondering why his sophomore friend was still with them, after all Todd and himself were waiting for Lance cause he had to drive them home but Pietro was staying.

"Yeah, but I thought I'd keep you guys company." Pietro smiled at the big mutant. He had been doing that so much during the day that neither Todd nor Fred felt like asking him why he did it. In truth Pietro couldn't wait for Lance to get here so he could take the other two away. He had to get his box of chocolates, which was inside his locker, and he knew he couldn't take that out in front of these two. Fred would probably want to eat them and Todd would ask too many questions… as if Pietro was going to mention anything about a girl again.

Just then they saw Lance walking toward them while dragging his half empty backpack across the floor.

"Ok… you guys have your stuff ready, right? I'm late for work already so I want to go now… Pietro, aren't you supposed to be in rehearsal?"

"Yeah…" Pietro sighed, "I'll…I'll go in a little while…" 

~~ Maybe this wasn't such a good idea… Kitty might hate me for yesterday. ~~ Pietro was having second thoughts about all of this. What if she didn't like him back? What if she hated him now? What if… What if she was on a diet and couldn't eat the chocolates?! … girls were always on some weird diet… 

Still, he had gone this far, right? Pietro Maximoff was not a quitter! He was going to see for himself if she liked him back… but not now.

"I… I think I'm going back home with you guys…" Pietro said as he began to get uncomfortable.

"Why?" Lance knew there was something wrong with Pietro now… he almost sounded… _insecure_ about something.

"No way!" Todd grabbed his books in one hand and Lance's arm in the other as he tried to pull his friend. "He'll get bored and Freddy won't help and I need to study! You know Pietro makes a racquet when he's bored! … Besides, you have to go to rehearsals now!" Todd was going to do anything in his power to have a quiet afternoon to study. With someone like Quicksilver around, quiet times weren't that many.

"Fine, fine… kick me out of my own home why don't ya!" Pietro crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against his locker.

"You could go to the mall with me while I work?" said Lance trying to help his friend.

Both Fred and Todd looked at each other, then at Lance as the same thought came to their minds.

"You work at the mall?!" asked Todd voicing their thoughts while still starring at Lance.

~~ Oh no!… ~~ Lance looked at his friends and realized his secret was out.

"Well… yeah, nothing big really…"

"Yo! Man, we didn't know it was at the mall. Which store?" Todd had for the moment forgotten about his studies.

"Umm… well… it's really no big deal… and … WE HAVE TO GO NOW!"

"Come on! Tell us!" Fred was just as curious about the location of his friend's job.

"You guys really want to know?" Pietro supplied enthusiastically. 

"YES!" repliedboth Todd and Fred.

"No!" said a worried Lance.

"Well…" Pietro leaned closer to Todd as Fred did the same thing in order to listen. It was as if they were talking about the world's greatest secret. "Lance here works at this really neat place. Freddy would really like it… and so would you Todd…. You guys suuuuuure you want to know?…"

"Pietro! Say it already!" screamed Todd.

Lance was just standing in a corner waiting for the jokes that were surely going to come at his expense.

"Lance…. Works….. at…. JOHN'S MIGHTY GUN AND AMMO STORE!"

"Whaaa..?" cried all three boys.

"Yeah, that's right… dangerous place to visit, gives people vengeful ideas." Said Pietro trying to sound convincing. 

"Yeah, yeah… that's right…." Lance was beyond relieved. If these two had found out where he really worked he never would've heard the end of it. That, and Fred would be constantly bothering him in order to get free candy.

"Ok, now we really should go… Pietro, what are you going to do?" Lance looked at his friend and wondered why he suddenly didn't wish to go to rehearsals.

"Umm,…. Well, I don't know…" 

~~ Honestly! I can't just 'not' show up… ok fine! I'll do this… I can do this… sure I can do this… should I do this?…. Yeah, yeah I should this. ~~ Pietro's way of convincing himself sometimes proved complicated.

"Nah, it's ok… I'm staying. But only cause Todd needs to study." He elbowed his young friend in the ribs as Todd's eyes suddenly grew wide.

"Oh my God! I have to study! Move Lance! MOVE!" Todd grabbed Lance by his arm and started to pull.

"Ok! Ok… geez, hold on a minute… see ya back home Pietro. OUCH! Todd! QUIT IT!"

Fred followed his two bickering friends as they headed toward the exit. Once alone Pietro opened his locker and took out the troubling box of chocolates.

~~ The stuff I get myself into… ~~ thought the young mutant as he hid away the box inside his backpack and headed toward rehearsals.  
  


********************************************************** 

Kitty Pryde was nervous. But why was that? She didn't do anything to feel nervous about, right? Still, she had been fine the entire day and now suddenly she had this feeling in the pit of her stomach, all she wanted was to run away.

~~ Like, maybe I shouldn't be here… everyone is like probably talking about what happened yesterday…. Maybe like, I should've told Jean what happened. ~~

She remembered yesterday all too clearly… amazing how much things changed after that one little moment. Before things had been simple. Brotherhood = bad; X-men = good. That was it, she fought the Brotherhood and saved the day… but now, how was she to fight Quicksilver when all she could think about was that kiss? And would Pietro fight her back? Did he feel the same things she was feeling right now? Did he even care? Kitty didn't know… and she wasn't sure she wanted to know…

"Where on Earth is my male lead?!" Claudia was walking around giving everyone the evil eye as if they were actually hiding Pietro behind their backs.

"Why most he do this to me?!" Claudia kept running around the stage.

~~ Like, where is he? ~~ Kitty was used to Pietro being late, but he was really outdoing himself now. Was he late because of her? Because he didn't wish to see her again? Maybe he wasn't going to show up at all… no, he wouldn't do that. This was a challenge for him. He'd show up to finish the play.

~~ But like, wait a moment… was yesterday like just a challenge for him as well? ~~

That was the part Kitty didn't want to know. Maybe that kiss hadn't meant anything to him, but for her… well, it was her first kiss. Her first real one. With a boy.

~~ And out of _everyone _in this school the guy to finally kiss me had to be Pietro Maximoff. ~~

The little room filled with light at that moment thanks to the opened door and through it walked Pietro looking all smiles and sunshine at Claudia.

"Hi Claudia!" his voice was very sweet… too much so.

"Don't you 'hi' me! You were supposed to be here a whole hour ago!" Claudia was always very concerned with keeping on schedule. Pietro was obviously ruining her chances of that.

"But I have a good reason!"Pietro cried out as he approached the small group of kids who were practicing their lines.

"I'm not your homeroom teacher Maximoff. I don't want excuses I want you HERE! … Now go practice your lines with Pryde."

Kitty had been looking down at her script as if it held all the secrets of the Universe. She didn't want to look up, she didn't want to look at him right now. He was probably looking at her, expecting her to do something… but she didn't know what.

Pietro for his part simply looked at Kitty. She wasn't moving; she hadn't even looked at him yet. She was probably angry with him. He didn't know what he had expected her to do… but at least she could look up at him! 

He looked at Claudia with pleading eyes practically begging to practice with someone else. Claudia wouldn't have it though.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Go and practice with Pryde now, we have to make up the lost time."

Pietro walked rather slowly toward the young girl and sat next her without saying anything. They both pretended to be extremely preoccupied with anything else when in fact they were each waiting to see who would talk first.

~~ This is stupid! Why am I putting myself through this? ~~ Pietro was tired of not knowing what Kitty was thinking so he decided to break the silence.

"So… umm, what shall we practice now?" he wasn't looking at her when he asked, he was too busy studying the floor.

"I don't know… whatever." Kitty was also busy looking at some distant spot on the wall. 

"I don't suppose we could practice yesterdays scene again? … or maybe not." Pietro saw the look on Kitty's face at that question. She seemed shocked, then she looked a little hurt.

~~ So like, that's what it was to him, just another kiss from another girl … Like, don't know why I'm upset, I should've been ready for this you know. ~~ Kitty was disappointed… but mostly at herself for letting her imagination get the best of her.

~~ Ok… 'yesterday' is a bad topic right now. ~~ he really didn't wish to upset Kitty, too late for that now though. Pietro would've found a way to fix this situation if Claudia's voice hadn't broken his concentration.

"Maximoff! Come here a sec!" Claudia screamed from the other side of the little room.

"Yeah! … Umm, Kitty. I'll be right back, alright?" he didn't wish to leave her now, but the almighty 'play god' called.

For the rest of rehearsal Pietro and Kitty practiced scenes with the other actors and couldn't really talk much. Kitty was glad for that, but Pietro was starting to get edgy. He wanted to talk to her alone and he wasn't getting a chance and this was making him angry. Finally after about two hours Claudia decided they had practiced enough for the day.

~~ Wow! Isn't she benevolent… ~~ Pietro was just oozing with sarcasm right now. He couldn't wait to catch Kitty alone so they could talk … only problem was, there was no Kitty.

"Where she go?!" Pietro screamed at no one in particular.

"Huh?" Claudia looked up from what she was writing and starred at her male lead.

"Where is she? Where's Pryde?"

"Umm, I think she left already… you might catch her on the pay phone though." And with that Claudia returned her attention to whatever she was writing.

Pietro grabbed his bag and tried to run as fast as he could but without using his powers. He finally caught up with her in the middle of the hallway.

"Hey! … so umm, where you going?" he smiled at her trying not to make her angry.

"Home, where does it look like?" she wasn't being really helpful.

"Ok… listen, I really want to talk to you Kitty."

"What about?"

"You know what about!" Pietro tried to control himself. "Why are you mad at me?"

~~ Ok, stupid question, but at least she'll talk to me. ~~ thought Pietro as he waited for her answer.

"I'm not mad at you Pietro."

"You're not?" he looked bewildered for a few moments. He wasn't expecting her to say that.

"No. If you're talking about what happened yesterday I'm completely fine with it you know. I mean, it's for the play, right? Nothing like, important or whatever." 

"Right… nothing important." Pietro's agitated mood was suddenly becoming depressed. 

~~ Damn it, damn it, damn it! ~~ Pietro was mentally kicking himself.

"Ok… guess that's about it…" Pietro turned around to leave when he suddenly remembered the box of chocolates he still had in his backpack. He didn't feel like eating candy right now, and he certainly wasn't going to give them to Freddy.

For a brief instant Kitty thought Pietro had left her for good. She wasn't as relieved as she thought she'd be, instead she was rather sad. Things were quieter when he wasn't around and even (dare she say it?) boring. Spending these past few weeks with the young speed demon had really messed up her perspective of fun.

She felt that maybe she should've told him the truth. That the kiss had indeed been important to her, she just didn't know if he'd laugh at her or joke about it. Suddenly she felt someone was beside her again, she turned to see Pietro walking by her looking a bit nervous about something.

~~ Like, why is he still following me? Didn't we like, settle this already? ~~ Kitty thought as she stopped and turned to face him.

"Did you like want something?" Kitty didn't sound annoyed or sarcastic; she simply wanted to know the reason why Pietro was still standing in the hallway with her.

"Well… I kinda… well, I … IgotthisforyouandIthoughtyoumightwantitevenifnothingishappeningbetweenus."

Kitty blinked a few times. She really hated it when he talked this way.

"Can you like repeat that?"

"Iwantedyoutohavethis." He said as he gave her the brown bag that held the pink box of chocolates.

Kitty still didn't understand a word Pietro had just said but he was handing the bag over to her so she just took it and looked inside. What she saw shocked her. 

She took out a small pink heat-shaped box of chocolates. It didn't have a card or anything like that. Apparently Pietro had forgotten of that little detail. But he had thought of giving her something… why had he bothered buying her this when he didn't care?

"Well… it's not important or anything like that but you know, I thought you'd like it more then Fred would. And God knows I'm not buying him anything, he eats enough as it is. Why, just the other day we were practically out of food and we had to go to the supermarket last night or we would've starved…" Pietro was babbling.

~~ He bought this? Pietro bought this for me? ~~ Kitty wasn't really listening to Pietro's tale of Fred 'the human vacuum cleaner'. She knew he was just talking nonsense to avoid looking as embarrassed as he felt. She looked up at him now. He was avoiding making eye contact with her; he just kept talking while looking at his feet or at some of the lockers. At that moment Kitty felt that Pietro was the sweetest boy on this planet.

~~ He looks so embarrassed and so lost…. I wish he'd be quiet though. ~~ 

Pietro was busy talking about… something. He wasn't even sure what he was babbling; all he knew was that he could see Kitty starring at him looking all pretty like that and he knew that if he starred back she'd just look away. So his plan was … what? To talk until eternity? He had to stop; he just didn't know what to do after he did. Fortunately Kitty made the decision for both of them.

Silence filled the school's hallway as Pietro felt something warm and soft on his lips. He blinked a few times trying to understand why he wasn't talking anymore. He didn't recall shutting up. 

He looked down and saw Kitty's cute little lips on his. She was standing on the tip of her toes as she was trying to make up for their height differences. He leaned forward a bit so she wouldn't feel so uncomfortable and slowly placed his hands around her back. He didn't want her to think he was being disrespectful or anything like that.

They stayed that way for a few moments, neither of them daring to further the kiss any more then a simple brush of the lips. It didn't matter though; it was enough for both of them now.

Kitty backed away slowly but she could feel Pietro leaning forward a bit more to make up for the space between them. 

~~ Boy is he eager! ~~ Kitty had to laugh at Pietro's attempt to keep the innocent kiss going. She gently pushed him away though. 

They stood starring at each other for a while. Kitty was doing some serious blushing while Pietro too looked a bit red around the cheeks… not that he'd admit it.

"So… you liked the chocolates?" Pietro asked after a while.

Kitty just looked at him and placed her hands on her hips as if saying: 'stupid question!'

"Ok, I'll take that as a yes… So, what do we do now?"

"I was like, hoping you'd tell me. I mean, you know the others are like so totally not going to understand." Kitty said as she started to look worried.

"Hey, don't worry about that right now alright." He smiled fondly at her. 

If you would've told Pietro Maximoff a week earlier that he was going to be in love with a member of the X-men he would've laughed so hard tears would've been coming out of his eyes. He didn't know how it happened, but he knew he had to keep it. 

He just hoped the day his friends found out they could be a bit more understanding. He'd have to tell them eventually… 

~~ … Just NOT this week… or this month… or the one after… ~~ Pietro wasn't really thinking about telling them in the immediate future… or anytime after that.

**********************************************************

End Chapter 6

Ok, Hope you guys liked it! =^_^= Aren't those two just the cutest little things?! ;P Tell me what you guys think alright… later!


	7. A Lovers Feud part 7

Thank you all for your reviews

Thank you all for your reviews! 

A special hug for my friends Nahir and Princess B! 

(I love you guys!) ;P

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 7**

He got an A. How on Earth had this happened? Maybe his teacher had been drunk the night he graded this test… he didn't know and for the most part he didn't care. All he knew was that for the first time in a very, very long time Todd Tolensky had an A written on a test that had his name on it.

~~ Hey yo! This is starting to look like a very good Friday! ~~ 

Todd was walking toward Pietro's locker now (the Brotherhood usually met there since it was the closest to the cafeteria). The afternoon bell had rung signaling students to make a run for it in order to grab the best piece of meatloaf they could find. He wasn't really looking forward to it. He was late though; he had sat in the classroom looking over his test again and again even after the bell rang. He still couldn't believe it.

When he finally reached his friends locker he saw something that was becoming 'normal' in the Brotherhood household and he wasn't liking it. Pietro was leaning against his locker with this peaceful little smile on his face. He looked a little spaced out, not even annoyed at the fact that he was waiting for everyone again.

He had been doing that lately and Todd suddenly felt like a very bad friend for not checking into it sooner. Sure, you would think that seeing your friend happy wasn't really something you'd need to check… but Pietro had this spaced out look that was starting to get a little too freaky for his tastes.

"Hey yo! Check this out!" said Todd as he waved his pride and joy of a test in front of Pietro. The white-haired boy jumped a bit in surprise, he hadn't seen Todd coming at all. After that he focused on the annoying piece of paper that had Todd so excited.

"You know Todd… if you're going to steal a test you should do it _before _you take it…"

Todd didn't know if he should feel insulted.

"Hey man, you blind or something?… read the name yo! Property of Todd Tolensky! This test is mine and for some reason so is the grade. Very impressive huh?"

Todd was so proud! He felt like framing this test and keep it in his room to cherish forever. However, his hand soon found itself without the important paper since Pietro had snatched it too fast. Todd had to smile at the look of disbelieve his older friend had.

"Think you're the only one with good grades yo?"

"No way… you cheated!"

"Did not! … For once I did not cheat! … Usually I'd get even worse grades when I do that… Man, I actually _studied _for this! … You tell anyone, I'll kill you." Todd took his test away from Pietro and carefully folded it away. Once he was sure his new treasure was safe he turned to his friend who was just smiling devilishly at him.

"Oh, your secret is safe with me." That was all he said, somehow that didn't give Todd much hope.

The two boys soon saw Lance and Fred making their way toward them. Lance wasn't looking like his usual self, a very hungry Fred was practically dragging him.

"You know Lance boy, the bathroom is over that way if you need it." Pietro pointed toward the bathroom door as Lance simply made a face at him.

"Shut up Pietro… I'm not in the mood."

"Hey yo man! Why you looking all down and stuff?" Todd didn't need to be worrying over two of his friends now, Pietro was bad enough.

"I just need some sleep. Yeah, that's it, some sleep. That job is killing me." Lance was now leaning against the lockers next to Pietro as he thought about his job…. Oh the hell it all was.

"Maybe you need some sugar to get you going." Fred took out one huge chocolate bar from his pocket and handed it over to Lance who was simply looking at it with his eyes wide and filled with horror.

"I….. I…. I think, I'm going to throw up!" and with that Lance Alvers ran toward the bathroom Pietro had pointed at earlier leaving his three friends in a mild state of shock.

"Fred, I don't think he liked the chocolate yo." Todd said as he kept starring at the bathroom door Lance had ran into.

"I guess I'll go check on him…" Pietro went into the bathroom leaving his other two friends waiting on the hallway. What he saw could have driven anyone into a hysterical fit of laughter. Lance was splashing cold water on his face as he kept mumbling something about 'evil candy monsters' or 'chocolate devils'. The boy was about to loose it.

"So… thinking about changing careers Alvers?" Pietro smiled down at his friend. Mystique should really be paying him to be the group's private psychologist.

"If I see another piece of candy anywhere near me, I'm really going to throw up!" 

"It can't be THAT bad Lance boy." Pietro could understand if Lance wanted to quit because of the ridiculous apron they made him wear, but he didn't see what was the big deal about the candy. He would love to work somewhere where he could eat all the sugar he wanted.

"You don't understand… all these little kids. They just scream and scream demanding their candy and their parents just smile sweetly at them thinking that maybe they will calm down after they have sugar!" Lance was close to hyperventilating. 

"I see… you have some very deep issues from your childhood, don't you Lance?" Pietro tried to look 'professional doctor' type of serious… it wasn't working very well.

"Shut up Pietro…. Or I'm gonna puke."

"Did you ever eat cotton-candy when you were little Lance?"

Lance starred at him for a while.

~~ What did this have to do with anything? ~~ Still, he decided to answer the young mutant's question.

"Most of my foster families didn't really have that much time to take me anywhere that might sell cotton-candy." He answered as he dried his face with his shirt.

"Not to the circus, or a fair,… any of those places?" Pietro couldn't believe it.

"Nope… and look at how great I turned out!" he smiled at the white-haired boy trying to annoy him. 

"I see… well, your childhood traumas and your deranged mind will have to wait until next year Lance. I haven't taken Psychology yet. Maybe Mystique might help you."

"Pietro…she needs way more help then I do."

"Well, that's true…"

Their deep conversation was suddenly interrupted as Todd walked into the bathroom.

"Hey yo! Freddy is starting to get nervous you know… he's hungry." Todd stared at Lance and noticed he was looking a bit better. "Yo man, you feeling ok now?"

"Well, according to my doctor over here I have some deep childhood trauma… but other then that I'm fine."

"But really Lance, don't we all have a few of those?" and with that Todd returned to the hallway leaving his friends a bit more disturbed then they were before.

~~ I love doing that to them! ~~ 

******************************************************

Kurt kept looking at his food… or what he thought was supposed to be food. What he wouldn't give to just teleport back to the institute and get himself a cheeseburger. 

He looked around his table and noticed everyone doing pretty much what they've always been doing. Evan was talking to Rogue about something… he wasn't paying enough attention to know what it was. Scott was talking to Jean and eventually Evan would ask something and Scott would answer, then they'd go back and keep talking to their respective partners. 

The only person that was starting to freak him out was Kitty. She was so quiet. No 'Eww Evan, that's gross!' or 'Like, no way!'. She was simply starring into lala land somewhere. Whatever she was thinking about was making her happy because from time to time she would have this weird little smile on her face, but just as soon as it came Kitty would wipe it away hoping no one would notice.

They had all noticed this weird behavior from Kitty a couple of days ago, but Jean simply said to give her time and that she would come to us if she needed anything. Kitty didn't seem to need anything though… problem was Kurt was the one that needed something. He needed to know what was keeping Kitty this happy!

~~ Sure, curiosity killed that cat… but mutants are just a bit more prepared for this type of thing. ~~ Kurt knew he shouldn't butt in… but he just had to know.

Suddenly he saw it, that weird smile had crossed her face once again. Kurt quickly looked toward the direction Kitty was starring into hoping to get a clue of whatever it was that was making Kitty this way. All he saw was a bunch of kids eating their … meatloaf (eww!). The Brotherhood was near by too, but Kitty wouldn't be smiling over that.

Kurt went back to looking at his food.

~~ Maybe I'm missing something… ~~ thought Kurt as he finally decided to eat some of that stuff that was over populating his plate.

************************************************************

"You got an A?!" Lance couldn't believe it. True, Todd had studied like never before for these last couple of tests but he wasn't expecting the youngest member of the Brotherhood to suddenly bring home an A. Lance figured only Pietro did that.

"Yeah… aint it cool yo!" Todd was very proud.

"So you're what? … The resident genius or something?" Fred asked as he stuffed himself with some of that ungodly meatloaf.

"Yeah right Freddy… you know how much I had to bust my butt for this? … I'm keeping my C's yo!" Of course Todd could have better grades… he just thought it was too much work to keep them.

The young mutant took a bite of his meatloaf and suddenly regretted it. 

~~ Man, give me a juicy fly any day! ~~ he could leave the cafeteria and head out into his own hunt for lunch, but he had to keep an eye out for Pietro. He was determined to find out the reason why their fast talking friend was acting so nice and… peaceful.

Suddenly he saw it, Pietro was smiling that 'prince (I'm-going-to-gag) charming' smile of his. Todd looked quickly to see if he could spot the reason his friend was smiling.

~~ Some jocks over that way… some other punks… those X-geeks are a few tables down… losers. Aha! Cheerleaders! That's what Pietro is looking at! ~~

Todd turned back to the table looking rather pleased with himself. He noticed though Lance was giving him an odd look. Todd simply waved him off and whispered an 'I'll tell you later'. He had to tell Lance… everyone told Lance everything. Mystique had put him in charge on account of being the oldest, yet aside from that Todd also needed someone to play spy with and Lance didn't act all mature with them. Instead they usually told him what kind of 'evil' plan they had on mind and he'd usually help.

Lance Alvers was so bored. He looked down at his meatloaf and thought he had better talk to Mystique about giving the Brotherhood some special treatment on the food section. He needed something to do right now though. Then, he saw it.

Pietro was smiling again, but this time he wasn't looking aimlessly about. He had spotted someone. Unfortunately he wasn't quick enough to catch who it was, but Todd did. He wanted the young mutant to tell him now, but Todd simply waved him off and said he'd tell him later.

~~ Oh well… Guess I'll wait. ~~ 

It was about time they checked into what Pietro was doing. He knew he had been spending too much time with his part time job, and Todd had been studying too much to do anything about their friend. And Freddy…. Well, he was just Freddy. But he knew they had better find out and soon… the house was becoming an eerie type of quiet. Sure, Pietro still talked a lot and made fun of everyone… but it was becoming a less frequent occurrence.

Lance looked over the cafeteria crowd and wondered how this many students could be excited about meatloaf. There were way better things to do with this type of food… and Lance felt the need to do it.

~~ This is for all oppressed kids everywhere! ~~ and with that Lance threw a huge chunk of his meatloaf clear across the room.

No one saw where it came from but everyone saw the piece of food fly across the cafeteria and land unceremoniously in a loud 'splat' on the floor.

"Your aim sucks Lance boy." He heard Pietro say as he watched the reaction of the crowd.

"Wasn't really aiming…. I advice you to duck right now though." And with that the entire Brotherhood went for cover under the table as the inevitable happened.

"FOOD FIGHT!!!" was heard loud and clear across the room as other pieces of meat were flying about the room. Freddy kept eating his lunch under the table while Todd and Pietro starred at their oldest friend.

"And you did that because…?" Todd looked over at Lance who was watching the fight with a wicked smile on his face.

"Because I could." Why did anyone start food fights anyway? Because they were fun to watch.

"You see Todd, our dear friend over here is trying to recuperate some of his lost childhood by acting like a three year old again." Not that Pietro really thought food fights were for three year olds, but he was mostly saying that to annoy Lance.

"Sip it Maximoff!… you know you're dying to start throwing some food around."

"Well yeah, that's true. But really Lance boy… you have some issues." And with that Pietro took some food off his plate and threw it around aimlessly.

*********************************************************

Mystique was not a happy woman… some wondered if she ever had been. There was just too much work all the time to be happy and the insulting piece of paper she was holding wasn't making her day any better.

"They spent THAT MUCH on the supermarket!?!?!" 

**_The bill_**. That ungodly bill from the Brotherhood's grocery shopping extravaganza. What had she been thinking when she gave Pietro that blank check.

~~ Oh yes… I remember, I was wondering if young Maximoff was on drugs. ~~

Of course she knew that wasn't an option. His way of acting was partly due to his mutant power with speed and because of his competitive nature. She also knew Pietro bragged too much about being perfect to suddenly be caught doing something that would damage his body.

However, damage to young Pietro was an option that was open to her at the moment. How on earth could they spend THIS much!?!?

"Get me Lance Alvers and Pietro Maximoff." Said Mystique to her secretary as she kept looking at all the items the young boys had bought.

"Umm, Miss Darkholme… the children are at their lunch break so it could be hard to find them right now." answered the shy secretary as she hoped her boss would simply leave the office for a while.

"Oh very well… I'll go find them myself. There are only so many places they could be." 

Mystique took off leaving a much relaxed secretary eating her little lunch.

*********************************************************

Kitty had been happily looking over at Pietro from the corner of her eye when suddenly this airborne meatloaf hit the floor. After that all Hell broke loose. 

"Like, who was the childish idiot that threw that?" Kitty said from under the table.

"What are you talking about Kitty?… this is the best thing that could happen on a Friday afternoon!" Evan was having fun aiding the food fight cause by throwing some of his meatloaf around the room. "Hey Kurt, you get ten extra points if you hit a jock!"

"Alright!" Kurt helped throw some things too.

"Well, there goes our quiet lunch." Said Jean as she tried to avoid some of the flying food.

"Well, that's it… I'm out of here." Rogue had had enough of all this food fight and carefully made her way out the cafeteria without getting hit.

"Well like… guess I'll be like going now." Kitty was about to phase through the floor when Scott stopped her.

"Hey! Don't do that here! … We have too many people watching." Scott didn't know if he was the only member of the X-men that was actually concerned about public display of power. Seemed everyone else could just be wearing a sign that read 'I'm a mutant' and they wouldn't care.

"But like I've done it before Scott!" Kitty just wanted to get out of there.

"But not with this many people around…" Scott was not going to let her use her powers today… 

"Fine, like whatever… but if I get hit by one of those meatloaves you're paying my dry cleaners!"

Kitty started to make her way toward the blissful exit. Why did it suddenly look so far away now? Meatloaf was flying everywhere and some mashed potatoes were making their way across the room. 

~~ The lunch ladies have probably gone after Darkholme by now. ~~ 

Kitty could just imagine Mystique's face when she walked in this room. 

~~ Like, good thing I'll be gone before then. ~~

Kitty was almost out of that food war when she decided to turn around to look at her friends. She couldn't see either Scott or Jean anywhere… probably gone already using Jean's mental shield. Kurt and Evan were busy fighting against some jocks by throwing practically everything they had. They had even flipped the table on to its side to use it as their private shield.

~~ Boys… they're like so immature! ~~

She was about to continue her exit when she suddenly felt someone grabbing her by her arm and pulling her down.

"Hey! Like, what's the big deal?" Kitty looked at the person that had pulled her and saw one Pietro Maximoff smiling all giddy and excited.

"You almost sound like you'd like to be hit by a stain-causing meatloaf… Why are you still around? I'd thought you'd phased through outta here a long time ago." Pietro was quickly making a meatloaf bomb.

"Yeah, like I'd love to… but 'no using my powers in public'. That is so totally wrong."

"Aaw… leader of the X-men wont let you have a little fun?" he smiled mischievously at her.

"Let's like, not talk about that." Kitty knew that talking about teams was likely to end badly between the two of them.

"Fine, but since you're here you have to help." Pietro dropped some of the meatloaf on her hands.

"EEEEEWWWW! Like, what's wrong with you? I'm not going to throw this!"

"Oh but it's fun Kitty! Here, let me show you ….." Pietro looked around the room scanning for a victim. "Now where's an idiot when you need one? Oh, there's Daniels!"

Kitty gave him 'the look'. That meant = throw it at him and you die.

"Fine whatever… no need to look at me like that!… had your butt saved by a girl Daniels!" Pietro kept looking and came across the 'almighty Duncan'. 

"Now look here… found me a bigger idiot!" 

Kitty watched as Pietro 'lock and loaded', took aim and let the meatloaf fly! Not surprisingly the bomb hit the target.

~~ Like, good aim! Bet he brags about it. ~~

"HA! Who's the best 'food fight fighter' in Bayville?…. ME! That's right, MEEEEEE!"

~~ I knew it… ~~ Kitty smiled up at Pietro as he kept looking for some other poor victim.

"Hey, aren't you gonna throw that?" he asked after seeing Kitty had been holding the meatloaf he had given her.

"My aim is not as good as yours." She said as she tried to hand back the small 'missile'. 

"Of course it isn't, but that's not a surprise! … look at Lance over there, you think _he _can aim? Not on your life."

Just then Lance decided to take his aim at a very angry Duncan. For his part the young football player was almost completely clean, aside from the huge stain Pietro's earlier bomb had created. Duncan was looking over the general direction of where that missile had come from to see if he could find anyone to beat up over that.

Just then Duncan felt something slimy hit his back and slide down his jacket.

"WHO THREW THAT?!" Duncan turned around to look at a smirking Lance.

"What's the matter Matthews, can't stand the heat?… This is a WAR we're fighting here!" Lance heard Todd's next words to Freddy.

"Yo! Lance has really lost it! … Freddy! Stop eating the ammunition!"

Pietro and Kitty were watching Lance and Duncan scream at each other. Kitty felt like she just had to ask something.

"Hey like, is Lance ok? I mean, he's acting a little, you know, weird…"

"He is an over-worked, under-paid young man who has suddenly realized he needed to play with his inner child, either that or succumb into a mindless depression."

"Really?"

"No, not really… but it sounded fun saying that!… besides, he's messed up anyway."

Kitty just gave him another 'look'. 

"Oh come on! Don't look at me like that! …. here, let's be helpful to my friends anti-jock crusade." Pietro raised Kitty's hand and took aim for her. "Ok, now throw it as hard as you can!"

"Alright… but if he finds us, it's your fault."

"Yeah, I'll live with the burden… now throw it! Come on! Do it already!"

"Ok! Ok! Stop it already!" Kitty was actually enjoying this. She threw the missile as hard as she could and the next thing she knew Pietro was beside her bouncing like a hyperactive child… well, he was one anyway.

"Woohoo! We have a winner!"

"I hit him?…" Kitty looked at Duncan and realized he had spotted them.

~~ Uh oh… ~~ Kitty was smart enough to ducked behind the table, but Pietro had other ideas.

"Oh Duncan! I'm sorry… we were trying to hit this idiot with a football jacket… oh no wait, that was you! Never mind!"

"Pietro like, get down!" said Kitty as she tugged at his arm.

"Oh relax, it's not like I can't dodge anything he can throw at me." 

"Alright Maximoff, you're dead!" Duncan was getting ready to throw a huge food missile. Pietro simple pretended to be asleep.

" *yawn* Tell me when you're finished."

"Like, you're so bad, did you know that?" Kitty had to laugh at the way Pietro was upsetting Duncan.

"Yeah, I knew a long time ago… glad you figured it out though."

Lance, for once wasn't worried for Pietro's sake. All Duncan was going to do was try to hit him with a meatloaf that the young speed demon could easily duck. He motioned for Todd and Fred to come out of hiding and watch.

"This outta be fun." Said Todd as he climbed on top of Lance's back to get a better view.

For Duncan Matthews this had not been one of his better days. He made the huge food missile and aimed it toward Pietro. His anger was clouding his judgment of course; Pietro could easily dodge any attack that he knew was coming at him. Duncan however just wanted to release some tension.

"Take that Maximoff!" Duncan threw the meatloaf at the white-haired boy who simply stood there starring at it.

~~ It's so slow… oh god, I could dodge this in my sleep. ~~ Of course, for Quicksilver, anything was slow.

At the last possible moment Pietro ducked missing the food missile by inches. Then both he and Kitty heard the sound of a 'splat' as the meatloaf hit something… unfortunately it wasn't the floor.

They both turned around slowly as they came face to face with a meatloaf-covered Darkholme.

"Umm… Kitty, you should phase through the floor right about now…" whispered Pietro as he watched Mystique wipe away the food off her eyes.

"Like, good idea…" and Kitty was gone.

Pietro of course wasn't staying, he quickly dashed next to Lance who was standing there with his mouth hanging open.

"Man, we are so dead." Said Lance as he pushed Todd and Fred's head under the table.

"Hey yo! What ya doing?!" Todd wanted to see the food covered Mystique, but he ducked quickly away the moment she started to scream at them.

"ALVERS! MAXIMOFF!… GET OVER HERE NOW!…"

The entire room was left in a stunned silence at the sight before them. Pietro supposed they all would've laughed… but that just wasn't wise right about now.

"Why is she screaming at us?Matthews threw the damn meatloaf!" Pietro whispered to Lance as both boys tried to pretend they hadn't heard her… it was hard not to.

"She'll probably give him detention for a week, but we'll be off the hook. Now come on, before she gets any angrier." Lance started to make his way around the messy room toward the incredibly mad principal.

"Somehow, I don't think that's possible." Pietro followed.

"See ya later yo!" said Todd still hiding from their angry boss.

****************************************************

The school day was finally over. After the food fight Kurt and Evan spent a good deal of time cleaning themselves up in the bathroom, but even now Kurt was still getting food out from his hidden fur.

"I'm never playing with food like that again… well, not any time soon though." Kurt and Rogue were waiting in the parking lot for Jean and Scott to arrive. Evan was going to stay to play some basketball and Kitty had to practice for her play.

"Well, serves you right blue boy… you and Evan made a far bigger mess then any of those jocks." 

"Yeah well… it was still fun. You and Kitty should've joined, we needed the back up." Kurt smiled at Rogue as she simply shook her head in answer.

"Are you insane? All that is way too childish for me, I had to get out of that room as soon as possible. And as for Kitty, I don't think she wanted to stain her favorite pink sweater."

"Yes, I guess you're right… hey Rogue, you spent a lot of time with Kitty, right? Since you're roommates I mean. Have you noticed how she's been acting a little strange lately?"

"Not stranger then usual… she has been awfully quiet which has been a blessing to all of us if you ask me." Rogue didn't think there was anything 'wrong' with their friend, and she was enjoying the peaceful nights now.

"But what if she's got a problem and just doesn't want to talk to us about it? Shouldn't we try to find out what it is?" Kurt was trying to see if Rogue would help him figure it out, but the young Goth girl wouldn't be much help.

"I don't think the girl has got a problem, but I do think you better think twice about meddling. Aside from the quiet all I've seen is that she day dreams a lot and smiles too much… a person with a problem doesn't do that, so kindly leave it alone." Rogue was going to protect her newly found quiet time.

"Fine, whatever you want…" 

~~ Great, no help from Rogue. Don't think Jean would help, she's always talking about respecting others privacy. Maybe Scott can help me now. ~~ As Kurt kept thinking of other ways to find out what had happened to Kitty a similar discussion was taking place on the other side of the parking lot.

****************************************************

"But listen yo! Isn't it weird that Pietro is just so quiet lately? … Come on Freddy, you know how much of a mess he was always making, why did he suddenly stop?"

Fred didn't know the answer to that; he just figured Pietro had gotten bored with teasing them.

"Maybe he's gone bothering someone else?" Fred was trying to help Todd figure out an answer to this Pietro mystery. 

"No Freddy, I think it's something a bit worse then that…" Todd decided that since Lance was taking too long to get there, he'd try breaking into the car.

"Like what?" Fred didn't understand this. Why _did_ Pietro suddenly change? And why was Todd so worried? No one ever told him anything! 

"TELL ME!" someone was going to explain things to Fred once and for all.

"Huh?… geez, ok… no need to shout Freddy… Well, I think our good friend Pietro has got himself a new girlfriend." Todd said as he kept trying to break into the car.

"But that's good, right?" Fred didn't see what was so wrong with that.

"Not if it's who I think it is." Todd was beginning to get the idea of simply breaking the glass… but Lance would kill him.

"And who you think it is?" Fred wanted to know what was the big secret already.

"I think that he's got himself another cheerleader." Todd simply gave up on the car and sat down on the floor in a crouching position until Lance got there.

"And why is that bad?…" Fred still didn't get it. Why didn't anyone ever explain things in simple terms?

Todd sighed in response. This got Fred upset, everyone always sighed on his account because he didn't get things the first time. 

~~Well, why don't they just explain things _right _the first time?! ~~ thought Fred as he picked Todd off the ground.

"Hey yo! What are you doing?! Put me down Freddy!"

"Tell me what's wrong! I want to know!"

"OK! Ok!…. just put me down yo!…." 

Fred let go of Todd and the young mutant landed on top of Lance's car.

"Geez Freddy! You gotta learn to control yourself!" said Todd as he got more comfortable sitting on the car's roof. He took a deep breath and tried to explain things to his larger friend.

"Freddy, do you remember what happened last time Pietro was hanging out with some cheerleader?" Todd had later decided to explain what had happened to Fred, after all the guy was also living with them he had to know what was going on.

"Yeah… that Pietro and Lance were fighting…"Fred still couldn't believe that it had happened.

"Ok… if Pietro keeps hanging out with these cheerleaders Lance is gonna get all upset. He wouldn't fight though, I don't think he'd chance another argument with Pietro over something like that. But we wouldn't be seeing Pietro all that much afterwards and we'd have Lance all moody with us."

"But why wouldn't we be seeing Pietro? He still lives with us you know."

"Fred… when was the last time you tried to eat and Pietro took all the food away from you? Or the last time Pietro started to jump on the couch regardless of anyone of us still sitting there?"

"Well… I don't remember…" Fred was glad Pietro wasn't doing that stuff anymore.

"That would be because all he does is lock himself up in his room and listen to music, probably thinking of his new girlfriend every damn minute…. He still lives with us Fred, but we hardly see him anymore. And who's to say we wont see him during school either? He might decide to have lunch with all his new jock friends or something like that."

Todd didn't like this. It wasn't like Pietro couldn't have a girlfriend, it was just that he didn't have to ignore his friends while having one, and Todd was 100% sure that Pietro's new girlfriend wouldn't approve of slime little Toad as a friend.

Of course he knew Pietro had a mind of his own and that no girl would tell him what to do, but cheerleaders were sneaky things. She'd always get her way and the Brotherhood would be seeing a lot less of Pietro.

"Well we have to stop it!" cried Fred suddenly making Todd jump a bit.

"Have to stop what?" said Lance as he finally got to his car. 

"We have to stop…" started Fred.

"FRED FROM EATING SO MUCH!" finished Todd. "Don't worry Freddy, we're here for you." 

Lance looked at Todd for a while. He supposed he'd have to coax whatever it was his younger friend wasn't telling him, either that or wait till he got Freddy alone. But he was too tired right now and he just wanted to go home and rest. Thank god he had no work on Fridays!

"Fine Todd. We'll talk later, let's just go home now and… TODD, did you mess with my car again?!"

Todd put a bewildered face and tried to look all innocent.

"I don't know what you're talking about Lance."

"You tried to open it again didn't you?!"

"I was just here talking to Freddy, isn't that right Fred?"

"Well Todd, you WERE…" started Fred.

"… JUST HERE TALKING TO YOU!" finished Todd again.

"Right… just talking to me." 

"Fine Todd whatever… but touch my car again and you're dead!"

After that the boys got into the car and headed home. Todd was still trying to think of a way to solve their new Pietro problem, but he felt Lance didn't need to know about it right now.

**************************************************

End Chapter 7

Thank you all for your reviews! ^_^ I'm so happy! 

A special thanks to Deep Silence for her idea to name Chapter 6! (thank you honey! ~_^)

If the rest of you have any suggestions on how to name the other 5 chapters then I'm all ears… after writing that much I just can't think of a title .

Also, another special thanks to my friends **Nana** and **Princess B. **

(wow! You guys were my review number 90 and 91!!!) Arigatou Gozaimasu! =^_^=

I'm so glad the two of you liked my story!

I wasn't expecting you to read it so quickly…. I guess holding Nahir hostage at gun point was useful… ^_^

Thanks! ~_^ and I'm glad you liked it Princess B, even if you haven't seen the show yet… you should see the show on Saturday mornings! (Go see it! Go see it!)


	8. Caught In the Act

Sorry it took so long…

Sorry it took so long…. My muse left me! ;_;

And instead, I got stuck with an evil writers block! -_-

(now that's just a bad combination…)

Anyway, enjoy chapter 8! =^_^=

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 8**

Rehearsals were becoming a bit boring for the young speed-demon. He knew his lines already so he was practically just helping out the other kids who couldn't say two sentences without reading from the script. 

Occasionally he'd look up at Kitty who was also helping a few kids learn their lines. He didn't want to seem too obvious, after all the last thing he needed was for any one of these gossiping cheerleaders to be spreading rumors of them being together. He knew Mystique for one wouldn't appreciate that.

"Claudia, can we go now?" Pietro was a bit more then just bored, he was dying to get himself out of there and alone with Kitty.

"Our two hours are almost up Maximoff, I'm sure you can wait a little more." Claudia didn't even bother to look up from what she was reading.

"But I want to go now!" Pietro crossed his arms over his chest and starred at the play-god.

"You're so spoiled Maximoff." Claudia looked at her watch and decided they could stop for today, after all almost everyone knew their lines by now and she didn't exactly feel like putting up with Pietro's whining.

"Ok everybody listen up. We're through for today, but you better keep practicing those lines!"

"Aw, you're such a gentle dictator Claudia… what would we do without you?" joked Pietro as he reached for his backpack.

"What would you do indeed Maximoff. Practice your lines!"

"Yes mommy."

~~ Finally! It's over! The madness is over! ~~ Pietro made his way toward Kitty who was placing a few of her books in her bag. He quickly grabbed them and started to balance then on his head.

"You know Kitty, we really should practice our lines a little more." Pietro was making himself busy with the books.

"Like, that's a good idea but, could I have my books now?" she smiled at him thinking he looked cute like that.

"But I'm using them." Pietro stopped playing with them and simply placed them behind his back away from Kitty's grasp.

~~ Guess this is his way of saying he's carrying my books. ~~ thought Kitty as they made their way out of the room.

***************************************************

Kurt was pacing around his room back in the mansion. Kitty should've called by now. She always called right after rehearsals and he teleported to take her back to the institute, only she usually did that over ten minutes ago.

~~ Maybe rehearsals took longer today, or she's talking to someone or …. Or something else. ~~

Kurt wasn't usually this worried over Kitty's whereabouts but today he had decided to finally talk to her in hopes she would confide in him her little 'problem'. He was anxious enough as it was and the waiting wasn't helping.

"Alright,that's it. I'm going to find her. She has to be somewhere back at school." He would've just teleported, but he thought he needed a bit of help. And who better for the job then 'Big brother' Scott. 

Scott was just coming out of the Danger Room when he felt Kurt's usual 'poof'.

"Hey Kurt, going to practice for a while?" said Scott as he was tying up his shoes.

"Not right now, Scott I need a favor. I need you to help me find Kitty."

"Why? Is she hurt Kurt? What happened?" Scott didn't want to think one of his friends was in any kind of trouble.

"No! No… relax dude! Kitty's fine, it's just… well, you know how she's been acting all different lately. Well, I just wanted to talk to her about that and she hasn't called from rehearsals yet."

"So you want to go and find her?" 

"Yep, don't you want to know why Kitty's hasn't been concentrating on her practices lately. You know, as leader you should make sure everything was alright with the rest of the team."

"No need to pressure me into it Kurt, I am also curious about what she's been up to. I'll help you find her then we can both talk to her."

"Alright!" Finally someone to help him with his 'Kitty mystery'.

Kurt impatiently pulled on Scott's arm to make his way faster down toward the car.

***************************************************

"What to do? What to do?" Todd was pacing around his room still thinking of ways to solve the 'Pietro problem'. He thought about talking to his friend but he knew the white-haired boy wouldn't tell him anything. So at last the solution to his problem was:

"I have to spy on him!" so simple. Now, how to do that?

~~ Pietro must still be in rehearsals with all those cheerleaders yo! Now's the perfect time to find out who she is. ~~

All he had to do was find a way to get back to the school, he couldn't just walk there, it was too far. He would have to steal… 'borrow' Lance's car.

Todd made his way down the stairs looking all around him to see if he was being watched. No Lance in sight and Fred was busy watching TV. Todd looked over the kitchen table and saw the car keys. Now was a good a time as any. He quickly grabbed them and made his way to the door.

"Where you going?!" bellowed the giant mutant.

"AAAHH!…. SHHHHH! Freddy, be quiet!"so much for going by unnoticed.

"I'm just… going out to buy something. Be back later."

"And you're leaving with the car keys because…?"

"Aw man! You saw that?… ok fine, I'm going back to the school. Maybe I can catch Pietro with his new girlfriend."

"I'm going with you."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No you're NOT!"

Fred stood up and walked over Todd. Obviously he looked huge in front of the small mutant.

"YES I AM!"

"…. Ok, fine… whatever. But don't make any noise. I want to leave without being spotted by Lance. Where is he anyway?"

"Said he had to go and buy something." Fred was happy he finally got his way.

"Good! We can go now!"

The two boys made their way toward Lance's old car, Todd was beginning to get a little scared. If anything happened to that car it was his funeral, but right now Todd couldn't stop to think about that. He had to find out what was going on with Pietro.

Fred sat in the back seat as usual and Todd placed himself on the drivers seat. He placed the key on the ignition and turned. Sure, Todd didn't have his license yet, but he knew what he needed to know about cars.

He let go of the break pedal and lightly pressed on for gas as he looked back so he wouldn't run over anything… or anyone.

But the car wasn't moving. He looked at everything again, the car was in reverse and he was pressing the gas pedal not the break. Why weren't they moving?

"Freddy! I think you're too heavy!"

Fred thought for a moment, then he looked back at Todd with a 'nice try' expression.

"Lance drives us both to school everyday so why would my weight be a problem now?"

"Alright Freddy, fine… but really, you had to think about it before answering that?" 

All Todd felt next was a semi-hard punch on his arm.

"OUCH! Fred, stop that!… I'm sorry, I'm sorry…. Now calm down and sit down, I have to figure out a way to get this car moving."

"Does it was gas?" Fred asked trying to help.

"Yes it has."

"You pressing the right pedal?"

"Duh! Freddy."

"Don't 'duh' me, you're the one who can't move the car."

"Ok ok… what else? What are we missing?"

"Do you have a licensed driver?" asked a third voice.

"What kind of a question isAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Lance was standing right next to the driver's window and looking down at Todd's attempt to steal his car. 

"Did you kiddies need a joy ride?" Lance was not amused by what he was seeing. Todd was trying to drive his car… HIS car. 

"Ok, umm… I can explain…" Todd played with his fingers trying to come up with something. "Fred needed to go to the hospital cause he was sick and we didn't know where you were so I was going to take him!"

Lance snuck his head inside the car and looked at Fred who was still sitting on the back seat. Fred was not playing along.

"Sorry Todd, Fred is not sick. Try again." 

Todd sighed in defeat. He might as well see if he could have Lance's help on this.

"Ok… we were going back to school cause I wanted to check on Pietro. You know he has been acting weird, so I thought maybe he had a new cheerleader girlfriend or something."

"You think he's got a girlfriend now?" 

"Yeah well, remember at lunch today?… before your flying meatloaf extravaganza, Pietro was smiling at this table full of cheerleaders and…. well,… I don't want the Brotherhood to lose him because of some airhead!"

Lance stared at Todd for a while. 

~~ So this was his problem? He really thought Pietro would just ditch them? ~~ Lance wasn't so sure Pietro wouldn't, but he couldn't let Todd worry about that.

"Todd… if Pietro has a girlfriend then that's his business and all we have to do is make fun of him when he gets home. That's all. Now get out of my car."

"But don't you want to find out if it's true? All we have to do is check now that he's still at rehearsals." Todd wanted to find out so badly.

"And if it's true, then what? We can't stop him from having a girlfriend you know. If he were avoiding his Brotherhood duties and such then that would be different and Mystique would kick his ass but he's not. So what would we accomplish by going there?"

"…. We wouldn't be wondering anymore?"

Todd had a point.

"Ok move I'm driving."

Todd immediately moved to the passengers seat as Lance got in. He couldn't believe the older boy had agreed to help him. There was just one thing that was bothering Todd.

"Yo man, why wouldn't the car move before anyway?… I did everything I could and nothing." Todd watched as Lance pulled on the emergency lever he had neglected to acknowledge before. "Oh…"

************************************************************

Kurt and Scott had looked everywhere. Where was this girl!?

"Kurt, let's go back now. Maybe she took a ride with another of the kids back at rehearsals."

"Let's just check one more time ok? I'm sure we can figure out what she's been up to if we wait just a little." Kurt was very persistent today.

"Why don't you just ask her back home?"

"You really think she'd say anything Scott." 

"Ok fine, we're looking one more time and then we're out of here."

"Good. Let's split up this time, maybe we'll find her that way. Let's meet back at the lockers." And then Kurt 'poofed' leaving Scott all by himself.

"Great… well… might as well look a bit more." Scott wanted to go home now.

*********************************************** 

"Fred. I do NOT think he'd be inside the garbage can." Lance was beginning to see that finding Pietro was going to be a difficult job. They had arrived at the school several minutes ago and still nothing.

"Yeah, but people sure throw away some interesting stuff…" Fred took one more look inside the can before being pulled away by Lance.

"Yo! I think we better split up since none of us know where those stupid rehearsals take place." 

"Fine, good idea Todd." Lance was beginning to get a headache. "We'll meet back at the lockers."

Now all alone Lance kept walking around the empty school.

~~ Only demented people like us roam a school on a Friday afternoon, … figures…. ~~

True, Lance wished he could be spending his only afternoon off doing something else, but he also wished to know what Pietro was up to. If the young sophomore really did have a girlfriend then that explained an awful lot about his behavior this past week. Still, Lance wished Todd was wrong on that assumption. 

~~ If I were a hyperactive, annoying white-haired sophomore… where would I be? ~~ Lance simply kept walking, unfortunately that took him to one of the many places he knew for sure Pietro would never be caught dead in.

~~ How on Earth did I end up in the library? ~~ Lance sighed as he set down taking a rest. ~~ If I don't find that little punk soon, I'm gonna shake this entire building! ~~

Lance would've done that too, if he hadn't heard a little noise coming from behind one of the shelves.

~~ AHA!… decided to play hide and seek with me, did ya Pietro?! You are so busted! ~~

Lance started to move slowly toward the direction of the sound. He figured Pietro had spotted him and was trying to scare him by jumping from behind the shelve.

~~ Now I've got you! ~~

Lance suddenly jumped, grabbing a boy and pinning him to the floor.

"HA! Thought you'd scare me didn't ya?!" when Lance looked down however, he was face to face with…

****************************************************

"If I were Pietro, where would I be?…. that has got to be the stupidest question ever."Todd was keeping his mind busy as he kept looking for his friend. What would they do if Pietro really _did_ have a cheerleader girlfriend? He wasn't sure… maybe Lance would stuff him inside his locker like he did when Pietro had the sugar high. Not that such an action would help… but still…

The young mutant kept walking, but unlike Lance his steps had the sense to direct him somewhere where Pietro might be. The gym. 

~~ Nope, no Pietro playing basketball here. Maybe he's off in the pool… ~~ 

Todd turned around but he didn't get very far as he heard the soft sound of a gentle 'poof'. What followed after that wasn't as gentle.

"OUCH! DAMN IT! GET OFF OF ME!!"

"Sorry… AH! Todd?"

"Blue boy?"

"WHAT ARE _YOU_ DOING HERE?!" both boys asked at the same time as Kurt was pinning Todd on the floor.

"Hey! You poofed on top of me so you answer!" said Todd as he pushed Kurt away from him.

"Well… I was in the cafeteria when suddenly I met up with Blob and he said he was going to eat me… guessed I panicked and teleported away. Problem was I didn't have a clear destination." Kurt was smiling sheepishly at Todd.

"Figures…" Todd wasn't surprised to know Freddy was looking for Pietro in the cafeteria.

"So, why are you here?" Kurt wasn't expecting to see a Brotherhood member still in school on a Friday… unless they were up to something.

"Did you trash the lockers?!"

"Whaa…? NO! Geez, most we always be doing something bad to make you X-geeks feel almighty and good." Todd just wanted to get away from Blue boy as soon as possible.

"Then why are you here?" Kurt was more curios then worried over the reason why Todd might still be in school at this hour.

"As if I'd tell you!… Why are _you_ here?" Todd crossed his arms waiting for an answer from Kurt.

"I… well… I'm looking for someone. I don't suppose you have seen Kitty anywhere?"

"Oh no, thank God! The more distance between me and that little girl the better." Todd had better things to do then be with Blue boy right now so he turned around to leave.

"Are you looking for someone too?"

"What?" Todd turned around suddenly.

"Well, you looked as if you were looking for someone. Maybe we can help each other?"

Kurt wasn't a fan of the Brotherhood, but he didn't believe he had to be mean to them. Maybe if they all tried a little harder they could be nice acquaintances instead of enemies.

Todd sighed, he really didn't like the X-men but among all the other annoying members he supposed he could stand Kurt the most. Regardless of their first meeting.

"Fine, whatever… just don't be poofing around or something like that."

"Alright, no poofing." Kurt smiled as he started to walk besides Todd. "So, who are you looking for?"

"…. A white-haired, fast talking idiot." Todd wanted to find his friend and smack him.

"You mean Pietro? Does he always run off like this?" Kurt asked the now annoyed Todd.

"No, not really… but I swear he has got to be the most annoying member of the Brotherhood!"

**************************************************

"You have got to be the most annoying member of the X-men!" screamed Lance as he saw himself pinning down none other then Scott Summers.

"I'm the annoying one? What do you think you're doing jumping me down like this?!" Scott was shoving Lance away.

"I didn't know it was _you_!!" Lance was out looking for one annoyingly fast boy and instead got someone that was simply annoying. "What are you doing here anyway? Classes were over a few hours ago, don't tell me your working on some extra credit thing or I'm going to be sick."

"What I'm doing here is none of your business Alvers, and I could ask you the same thing." Scott thought Kitty might be in the library since she enjoyed the quiet she got there. She was always complaining how noisy things were at the Institute sometimes. But having come face to face with his 'not-so-favorite' person left little desire to find the young freshman now.

~~ That's it! I'm going to meet Kurt back at the lockers and go home! Chances are Kitty is probably there right now. ~~ 

Lance wasn't having much fun on his search either.

~~ That's it! I'm gonna get Todd and Freddy and we're going home! I don't care if Pietro has a cheerleader girlfriend. He could date the entire squad for all I care! ~~

Both boys started walking at the same time and would've continued if the small door hadn't made them get stuck.

"Move it Summers!"

"I was here first!"

After both boys managed to get out of the library alive Lance started to walk toward the lockers with Scott following angrily behind.

"You following me now Summers?" Lance wanted to get rid of this X-freak.

"I'm heading this way I don't know why you're going too." Scott was going to kill Kurt for this. Lance saw as Scott took out a small 'cell phone' type of machine from his pocket and started to call for Blue Boy to meet him at the lockers.

~~ Great! Stupid rich X-geeks even have state of the art Walkie-Talkies. ~~

***************************************************

"But Scott!…. oh alright, I'll meet you at the lockers… Kurt out."

"What the heck was that?!" Todd had never seen such a machine. It looked like a cell phone, but not really…

"This? … it's our communicator."

"You guys even have state of the art Walkie-Talkies?…. god you're spoiled."

"No, it's not like that…" Kurt smiled a bit. Now that he thought about it, they were a little spoiled.

"So you have to meet Summers at the lockers?"

"Yeah, he apparently got tired of looking for Kitty." Kurt wished they had found her, he wanted to know so bad what was up with the young girl.

"Can't really blame him" This got Todd an evil glare from Kurt. "Hey! I didn't mean anything against Pryde… I'm kinda tired of looking for Pietro myself."

"Would you imagine if they were out together, wouldn't that be strange?" Kurt laughed at his own comment. Now _that_ was impossible.

Todd stared at him for a moment, then realized he was joking and laughed as well.

"Freddy will go on a diet before those two can stand in the same room without killing each other." Todd decided to follow Kurt to the lockers since the Brotherhood's search for their friend had also failed. He figured Lance would be more then happy to go home now.

************************************************

Kitty tried to push Pietro away when the need for air felt intolerable. Not like she wanted to pull away from the boy, but she had to breathe. She mumbled something that Pietro didn't seem to understand.

"Mmmm?…" came Pietro's replay.

Another mumble from Kitty. This time Pietro pulled away from the girl as she gasped for air.

"I said…. I needed air!" Kitty said between breaths.

"Oh… sorry about that." Pietro felt a little sheepish about that last kiss. It seemed that after rehearsals that was all they were doing instead of practicing as they should've done.

Now they were in front of Kitty's locker as the young girl kept looking inside for the infamous picture of the disaster Evan had caused inside the Professors office.

"I like, practically had to steal this picture from Kurt's room."

"Oh my Kitty, you're turning bad."

"Like, shut up!" Kitty playfully hit Pietro's arm. "Here it is." 

She handed him the picture and Pietro simply stared at it for a while before bursting into laughter.

"Evan always made a mess of things…. May I keep it?" Pietro asked sweetly.

"Like, Kurt will probably miss it."

"Please?!" 

"Evan might not like you having that picture."

"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!!!!!"

"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT! Like, you can keep it for a little while." She didn't stand a chance against his whining. 

"Great!" Pietro quickly put it away in his backpack.

"Like, we really should be going home now. It's getting late."

"But we haven't practiced at all!" Pietro said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Like, whose fault is that?!" Kitty placed her hands on her hips.

"Fine, fine… let's just practice a little now before we go…"

"Oh alright…" She guessed there was no harm in that.

They both stood in front of each other holding their scripts. Pietro then got all serious as he started.

"Ok… I say one line here…" he looked over at Kitty to continue.

"We're like, not going to practice much today, are we?" Kitty said knowing too well what he was up to.

"Kitty, just humor me please." Said Pietro trying to remain serious.

"Fine, like whatever…" Kitty smiled a bit. "Then like, I say another line."

"Then I answer…" Pietro was moving closer to Kitty now.

"Then I answer back…." Kitty placed her arms around his neck.

"And then… we kiss." 

*************************************************

"I swear Summers, you keep following me I'm gonna go crazy!" Lance had enough of Scott Summers 'the human tail'.

"For the last time, I'm not following you. I'm meeting Kurt at the lockers." Scott was loosing patience with Alvers fast.

"Then meet him somewhere else!"

"Why don't _you_ go somewhere else?"

"Cause I'm not the one with the fancy Walkie-Talkie! Call him and meet somewhere else!"

Scott just stared at him for a long while. Oh, how much he wanted to take off his glasses right about now. Still, he was the one who had to remain calm since it looked like Lance wasn't going to.

"Lance, we're almost there. Let's just ignore each other while we wait for the others."

"Fine, but you just better keep away from me Summers or I'm….." Lance stopped dead on his tracks.

"Yeah, I know Alvers. 'You're going to go crazy'…. Alvers?… Hey, Lance why you stopped?" Scott looked over the direction Lance was staring before stopping dead on his tracks.

**********************************************

"Come on Todd! Scott and Jean were made for each other." Said Kurt as the two boys kept walking to meet their friends.

"Yeah, I guess. I still don't know why Freddy liked her at first. Still, you have to admit Rogue and Lance would make a cool couple." Todd was almost 100% sure Lance felt something for the Goth girl.

"I guess they have a few things in common…. Hey Todd, why are we talking about couples?" Kurt suddenly realized they were practically gossiping all the way.

"I dunno man, you brought it up." 

"I did?"

"Yeah, when you mentioned Pietro and Kitty being together… now that was a bad match Blue boy."

"Oh yeah… sorry about that. Still, I wish we knew where they were. What if they're in trouble or something like that?!"

"Relax Kurt… Pietro has probably been home an hour ago and I'm sure Kitty is back at that over sized house of yours."

"Yes, you're probably right."

Kurt and Todd were now turning the corner that led to the lockers where they were supposed to meet Scott and Lance when Todd suddenly stopped causing Kurt to bump into him.

"Ouch! Hey man! Why did you stop?" asked Kurt as he rubbed his head.

"Oh my God…." Todd couldn't believe this.

"What?.." Kurt looked over to see what kept Todd in such shock; however what he saw made him wish he hadn't been so curious.

*************************************************

"No, no Pietro in the cafeteria." Fred was quite proud of his search for his friend. Not only did he check the whole cafeteria, but he made sure Pietro wasn't hiding inside the fridge as well. He had to eat a few things to make sure though.

~~ Guess Lance and Todd must be at the lockers by now. ~~ He hoped Lance hadn't forgotten him cause there was no way he was walking home. Besides, he had to tell Lance about his encounter with the Blue Elf of the X-geeks. He was sure Lance would approve of his action to attack. 

Now, he wasn't _really_ going to _eat _the young boy. He just wanted to scare him off. Freddy kept walking towards the lockers when he saw two figures standing at the far end of the hall. As he approached them he noticed one of them was Todd and he was standing there with a look of horror on his face. Next to his small friend was none other then the Blue Elf who also looked shocked for some reason.

Normally he would've attacked the smaller X-men, but he noticed the whole hallway was in such an eerie silence that neither Todd nor Kurt felt like breaking. That made Freddy curious and he just had to see what was so important that had his friend (and the X-men) so captured.

Making his way behind the two young boys without them noticing Fred looked over what was happening. His brain needed some time to register what was happening. In the middle of the hallway stood his friend Pietro Maximoff, but he was not alone. There was this girl with him, but not just any girl, but an X-men! What was she doing to him? The only answer Fred could come up with was an attack. So he took a deep breath and bellowed as loud as he could.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY FRIEND, YOU X-FREAK?!?!?!?!?" 

***************************************************

Pietro and Kitty quickly broke the kiss and stared at the person who had screamed at them from the end of the hall.

"Damn it Freddy! You gave me a heart attack!" said Todd as he placed his hand where his heart was pounding a mile a minute.

"You didn't have to scream in our ears Blob!" Kurt's heart was ok, but his ears had received most of the damage done by Fred's outburst. 

Pietro and Kitty were just standing there looking over the three other mutants. They had seen them. They knew now, both the X-men and the Brotherhood knew they were together. However, neither Scott nor Lance were present so the situation could be saved.

"Todd! Fred! What do you guys think you're doing here?!" Pietro was annoyed his kiss with Pryde had been so rudely interrupted. 

"What are _we_ doing here? Pietro we should be asking you that! What are you doing here with HER?!" Todd didn't know if Pietro being with an X-men was better or worse then him being with a cheerleader. 

"None of your business! You guys better not tell Lance about this! Got it?!?"

"Kurt, like… I thought you were at the Institute you know." Kitty tried to talk to her friend but it seemed he wasn't going to talk back. "Listen Kurt, please don't tell Scott. He'll just go ballistic and there really is no reason for him to know anyway."

"Wasn't she attacking you?" Fred still didn't get it.

"What do you think Freddy?! Did I look like I was being attacked?" Normally some sort of smart-ass response along the lines of: 'And what an _attack_ it was!' would come right about now from Pietro, but the thought of Lance knowing about this was making him nervous. "You just better not say anything about this! You three got that? One word to either Lance or Scott and you're all dead!"

"Pietro…" came the soft call from behind the young speed-demon.

Pietro didn't bother to look back. He knew that voice. It was Lance. Kitty however did turn around.

"Umm… hi Scott." Said a shy Kitty Pryde as she stood besides Pietro holding his arm.

~~ So Scott's here too…. Great. ~~ Pietro slowly turned around and came face to face with the two older members of each group.

~~ Oh crap! ~~

**************************************************

End Chapter 8

Dum, dum, duuuuuuum!…. ^_^

Let us all pray my muse will keep working…. Or that I may buy a new one from K-mart.


	9. A Lovers Feud part 9

A Lovers Feud

Ok… here it is! TA DA!!! ^_^ Chapter 9! Can you believe it?! 

Anyway, sorry it took so long -_-; (I'm a bad person)

You can blame college and homework! Either one you choose will be fine…

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 9**

The ride back home had been rather quiet. Pietro though wasn't taking any chances so he let Todd sit in the front with Lance while he sat uncomfortably next to Fred in the back. Pietro thought Lance would be screaming his lungs out at him or at least saying something… anything. Instead all he got was silence. That was starting to get to him.

~~ Maybe he'll scream when we get home. Maybe he'll lock me up in a closet and tell Freddy and Todd not to give me any food…. Maybe…. ~~

Lance was too busy thinking to talk to anyone as he drove off back to their house. 

~~ So… this is how I handle shock… I freeze. ~~ Lance was a bit surprised at his own actions. Scott had freaked. He had screamed at the poor Kitty while she tried unsuccessfully to hide behind Pietro. His white haired friend really didn't say anything. He simply stood there starring at Summers as he served as a shield for Pryde. There really was nothing he could say at that point. It took Lance a minute to register that all the yelling was now being done toward Pietro and not at Kitty. Still the young sophomore didn't move or make any attempts at sarcasm or anything. 

Lance didn't really care how much Summers screamed at Kitty, but no one (and he meant NO ONE!) was going to be screaming at one of his 'self appointed' younger brothers. Lance grabbed Scott by the shoulders and pulled him away from Pietro's face. Of course Scott tried to fight back but Kurt helped to calm him down.

After that Kurt teleported Kitty back to the Institute and returned to drive with Scott since he wanted to make sure Summers wouldn't go drive off a cliff. 

~~ We aren't that lucky… ~~ 

Yet he didn't scream at Pietro. He could tell his young friend was expecting him to. Even Todd and Freddy kept waiting to hear Lance scream… instead they were all rather surprised when all he said was: "Let's go home now." And walked out toward the parking lot not waiting for anyone.

Now that he thought about it, he was rather surprised himself. From the review mirror Lance kept a close eye on Pietro. He was starring off into space, for all he knew probably thinking about his new girlfriend. From the corner of his eye he kept watching Todd; he was busy looking over the road. He figured the young freshman was probably concerned Lance would be the one to drive off a cliff if Todd wasn't paying attention to where they were going. Truth was Lance was very aware of everything; of the road, his friends, the current situation… oh yes, the _'current situation'_. 

~~ Why does Pietro always have to cause a 'situation'?! ~~ It seemed that was what the young sophomore was best at. He couldn't believe Todd had been so worried because Pietro might have had a cheerleader girlfriend. 

~~ Still, Pietro can't possibly be serious about her… right? This is Kitty Pryde for crying out loud! ~~ He knew her well enough from their old school even though they never talked much. She was annoying, that was it, nothing more to say about her. Still he hoped Pietro wasn't really serious about being with her cause if he was… well, Mystique was going to have a heart attack.

Todd Tolensky was watching the road. That was all he could do, make sure Lance wouldn't drive into a post or over anyone. The young freshman didn't like the eerie silence that took over them, he much rather hear the screaming and cursing that usually came whenever either Pietro or Lance were upset, he was at least used to that. Instead they were being punished with silence, or at least that's how he saw it. 

~~ Pietro and… _Kitty_?!? ~~ Todd couldn't believe that just moments before they found out Kurt had been joking about that. 

~~ Maybe Blue boy knew something…Nah, he was just as shocked as the rest of us.~~

They had all been shocked, funny thing was that the most tranquil of them all was the only one to burst into hysterical screaming. Todd never figured Scott would loose it the way he did. He was sure Lance would be the one doing all the screaming and wasn't that another surprise when the oldest member of the Brotherhood simply stood there and told them they were going home. 

Todd kept looking back from time to time. He looked over at Fred who seemed to be deep in thought, if Pietro were feeling like his usual self he'd joke Freddy was probably hungry. Todd knew most people didn't give Fred the credit he deserved but he did understand things and he knew Freddy was just as worried about what just happened.

He then glanced over at Pietro. The white-haired boy looked so out of it, he didn't look like he was tuned into the same galaxy as the rest of them. 

~~ Does he really love Pryde? ~~ Pietro wouldn't be feeling this down if he didn't care about the girl. His whole change of personality, his mood swings… that idiotic box of chocolates! Kitty had been the cause of all that from the beginning. 

Todd cursed himself for not looking into this sooner. Maybe he could've changed something… anything, he wasn't sure what though. 

Now he was looking over at Lance. He looked calm, too calm. He wondered when the older boy was going to explode. Todd was sure Lance would have a fit once they got home but even then the older boy surprised them. 

They had already reached their drive way, Pietro was the first to come out of the car. Obviously he ran all the way and locked himself up in his room before anyone said anything. Lance however didn't seem to care and he simply made his way to the kitchen to make himself some coffee.

Todd stood watching his friends wondering when each of them was going to explode. He felt like he had to do something, but he was so tired… all he wanted was to curl up under his covers and pretend nothing had happened. He suddenly felt a strong big hand land on his shoulders. It was only Freddy.

"Hey yo… what is it?" asked Todd rubbing his eyes.

"Go to bed." Freddy then proceeded to direct Todd toward the stairs.

~~ Great, now I'm being treated like a child. ~~ however, Todd wasn't going to argue with the huge mutant. He went up the stairs and paused in front of Pietro's room. His light was still on… Todd wondered what Pietro was doing but Freddy simply pushed him toward his own room.

"Ok ok! I get it… I'm going to sleep. But yo! We have to work something out in the morning you know." And with that Todd Tolensky went inside his room and before he knew it he was out like a light.

All the way home Freddy had been thinking of what had happened. After he screamed at the X-man for what he thought at the moment was an attack at one of his friends everything seemed to go by so fast.

~~ Maybe I shouldn't have screamed like that… ~~ Maybe it was all his fault things had turned out so badly. Then again both Lance and Scott already knew what was going on, so maybe things wouldn't have turned out so different.

Fred went back downstairs after making sure Todd was asleep. He worried over their youngest member; funny thing was he was sure Todd worried about him instead.

He took a quick look around and spotted Lance drinking his coffee on the couch. Freddy decided he would give him some company for a while.

"Hey Lance…" he said as he sat down next to him.

"Hey…. Where's Todd?" Lance took a sip of his very hot coffee and apparently decided to let it cool down first.

"In his room sleeping…"

"And Pietro?"

"In his room…" Fred knew Todd was asleep, but what Pietro was up to was a mystery to him. 

Lance smiled for a while… it was also a mystery to him what could make Lance smile right now.

"He's not serious…"

"What?" What was Lance talking about?

"Pietro, he's not serious about Pryde." Lance once again tried to drink his coffee.

"They looked pretty serious to me…" Fred still remembered how those two had looked while they were kissing, almost like the rest of the world didn't exist.

"Pietro will probably be stubborn if I tell him he should stop seeing her. He'd continue to date her just to prove he can do whatever he wants… So I'm not doing anything. Besides, chances are Kitty will break things up with Pietro first. Scott is not going to let her be with a Brotherhood member and being the 'good girl' that she is she'll agree."

So this whole situation was over before it began. Freddy knew Lance was right, Scott would have a tantrum back at their mansion and Kitty will be forced to break things up. Still… 

~~ How does Pietro end up in all this? ~~ that thought kept nagging the large mutant. He decided to find out for himself.

"Hey, where you going Freddy?" asked Lance as he continued to drink from his coffee.

"Off to bed… I'm tired." He said as he headed toward the stairs.

"Ok, later…" Lance just waved him off as he turned on the TV.

As Fred reached Pietro's room he started to hear some weird noises. He had heard them before so he knew what to do. Making sure Lance wouldn't notice him Fred left through the front door and headed toward the side of the house right under Pietro's window and (surprise, surprise) Pietro was climbing his way down.

Freddy shook his head a bit. Pietro had done the same thing the time Mystique had grounded him after playing with paint bombs inside the house. He walked up behind the white haired boy and decided to let his presence known.

"Where are you going?"

"AAAAAAHHH!!…. Damn it Freddy! You just love to scare people today, don't ya?!"

Pietro jumped down the rest of the way and looked up at his large friend.

"I'm going out." He tried to move past him, but Freddy held on to his arm.

"No you're not."

"Yes I am." Pietro tugged a bit but of course, nothing happened.

"No. You're not." Fred started to drag him back to the house.

"Aww! Come on! I just need to walk for a while! I won't be late I promise!"

"No."

"Damn it Freddy! Let go of me!"

"No."

Pietro decided to give in… after all, he was tired. As they walked back inside the house Pietro took one good look at the back of Lance's head. The older boy was busy watching TV, maybe if they were really quiet he wouldn't notice that both he and Freddy had been outside at all.

Suddenly Lance raised his arm and waved the two of them off.

"Good night kiddies…" Never once turning from the television set he simply acknowledged his friends presence and kept watching his show.

~~ Stupid Lance… ~~ thought Pietro as he ran to his room again.

Fred simply walked behind Pietro but just as he was going to say something to the white haired boy he felt the door close right on his face.

"Pietro?" Freddy knocked a few times. "Pietro?"

"What?" Why couldn't he just leave him alone?

"Are you ok?" Fred just wanted to make sure Pietro wouldn't be running out the window again.

The door opened a bit, but only enough to see Pietro's left side of his face as he answered his big friend.

"I'm just fine and dandy. Never been better Freddy. What do you think?!" and with that the door was slammed again against his face. 

If it had been Lance the house would already be tumbling down, if it had been Todd the young mutant would already be throwing insults at Pietro, but fortunately for the speed demon he was dealing with a concerned Fred.

"May I come in?"

~~ What does he want now?! ~~ Pietro opened the door and decide to let him in, after all… it was only Freddy. He wouldn't dream of letting Lance in and he would've had to think rather hard about letting Todd in but Fred… Fred was ok.

"Just make it quick ok? I'm tired." Pietro jumped on his bed as Fred came in. The big mutant simply leaned against the closed door for a while looking down at his friend.

"Do you really like her?"

"Huh?… Let me guess, Lance told you to come up here?" Pietro was about ready to throw a tantrum.

"No… I just wanted to talk to you." Freddy now sat onthe floor waiting for Pietro to answer.

"Well… not like if that was important since Lance is going to tell me not to see her again." Pietro took one of his pillows and held it under his chin.

"Actually Lance said you could do whatever you want."

"What?…" Pietro's eyes met Freddy's at this.

"He said you'd go out with her just to prove him wrong but I want to know if you'd go out with her because you liked her."

Pietro blinked a few times. He was having an honest, deep conversation with Freddy… with FREDDY!! He couldn't believe this…

~~ Next thing he says is that he'll go on a diet… ~~ Pietro smiled a bit but quickly became serious. He always made jokes at Fred's expense… but it seemed the older mutant wasn't as slow or stupid as others might think.

"I… I don't know Freddy… I kinda like her… she's nice. I know she comes off as annoying most of the time, and she does say 'like' and 'whatever' a lot, but I don't find that so disturbing now…"

Fred remained silent expecting Pietro to continue with his rant. 

"Well… I guess I don't know… I mean, if she weren't an X-men this wouldn't be a problem. Besides, we don't talk about our teams at all, it's kind of an unspoken rule. She doesn't mention anything related to that Institute of hers and I don't mention anything regarding the Brotherhood. We just talk… 'normal' stuff…. Do you know how great that feels like Freddy? We talk about music and about how stupid Duncan is and that kind of stuff… it's completely harmless!"

Fred was still quiet.

"Well! Aren't you going to say something? Call me an idiot because I'm falling for a stupid X-men! Go on! I dare ya!! … Out of all the ditzy girls in this entire school and I had to kiss Kitty Pryde!" Pietro landed face first into the bed and covered the rest of his head with his pillow.

Fred was still silent. It seemed that Pietro actually had feelings for the girl, but he had to make sure.

"Pietro, if Mystique sends us on a mission and the X-men go as well… would you fight Pryde?"

Pietro thought about this for a while.

~~ Would I fight Kitty? Could I really do that? … She's just so cute… AW! WHY IS SHE SO BEAUTIFUL!? ~~

"No…" he answered through his pillow.

"Would you let any one of us fight her?"

Now there was a thought… he pictured Lance fighting his Kitty…. _'his'_ Kitty? Since when was she _'his'_ Kitty?!?!…He couldn't let that happen.

"No…" Pietro looked up at Freddy now. He was so serious, so deep in thought… Pietro wondered if his friend was hungry.

"Well Pietro…" Fred was standing up now. "Good night." Fred went out the door and closed it behind him leaving Pietro very confused.

~~ What the hell?!!??!!…. ~~

Pietro dashed out of his room and stumbled into Fred in the middle of the hallway.

"What do you mean 'good night'? You can't just leave me like this! What if I turn suicidal!?!?!"

"You won't turn suicidal… you want to see Kitty again, don't you?"

Pietro was just standing there staring at his friend.

~~ Damn! He's right…~~

"Fine! Maybe not suicidal… but I could do some real damage here."

"Good night Pietro." Again Fred turned to leave.

"Why are you torturing me like this?! Freddy! Wait… just… just tell me what you think of all this… please?"

"Well…." Fred didn't know what to say to his friend right now. He obviously cared for the girl, as annoying as she was. But Lance did not approve of this and neither would Mystique if she ever found out.

"If you like her… then you have to work out a way to be with her but not if that means you have to turn your back on your family."

And with that, Fred was gone. Pietro stood in the middle of the hallway for a full minute before moving… that was a long time for Pietro.

~~ My family?…. ~~

There it was again, the reason he and Lance had fought the night he came home late from the party, the reason Todd didn't want him having some cheerleader girlfriend and now the reason Fred gave him to not be with Kitty… His family. 

~~ Well, it looks like my _'family' _is just not going to let me do anything… ~~

Pietro went back to his room and locked himself inside. He didn't hate Freddy or Todd or even Lance, he rather like them all… they had been living together for a while now and he appreciated their help and their companionship, but how long would this last?

Soon Magneto will get bored of his little 'club' for troublesome mutant teenagers and then Mystique would not feel obligated to pay most of their bills anymore. And with no legal guardian that meant that they would all have to return to foster care and that was that… so much for his _'family'_. 

Pietro sat down on his bed again thinking over what he had to do. Of course, it all boiled down to one inevitable conclusion…. He had to beat up his pillow.

"Damn it!… Damn it!…. DAMN IT!…."

*********************************************************

This had not been a good day for Kitty Pryde. After Kurt teleported her back to the Institute she locked herself up in her room, that of course only made Rogue angry since she had no access to her own room.

~~ Like, not a good time to be having a roommate… ~~ Kitty knew Scott would tell everyone and the Professor would most likely want to have a 'talk' with her. How on Earth had things turned out this badly?

Kitty was looking out the window when she suddenly heard a soft poof land on Rogue's bed.

"Hi Kurt…" Kitty kept looking out the window.

"Hi… listen, the Professor would like to speak with you…"

"Like I didn't know that was coming… tell him I'll be right there."

"Right… Kitty, I'm sorry everything turned out like this… Scott,… well, he's still a little freaked over the whole thing…" Kurt was still a little deaf over Scott's screams.

"He didn't have to like, yell at Pietro you know! I'm the one he was mad at." Kitty stood up and sat on Rogue's bed next to Kurt.

"I know, the Professor told him he should calm down… he's down in the Danger Room blowing some steam with Evan… it seemed they both got a little angry with what you were doing…"

"What I'm _doing_ is like no concern of either Scott or Evan."

~~ God! Why is everyone making like, such a big deal out of this? ~~ Kitty just wanted to scream for a while…

"I know Kitty, and you're right… but you have to admit, it is kind of freaky. I mean, Pietro Maximoff? What did you see in him?" Kurt was truly trying to understand why Kitty had chosen to be with a Brotherhood member… so many other boys in the school and it had to be the white-haired speed demon.

"Like… I don't know Kurt. He's not as bad as Evan described him all the time. He's actually very sweet."

"Sweet?"

"Well, to me at least…Kurt, you're not like, against this, are you?" Kitty was looking up at Kurt with big sad eyes.

"Hey… what do you mean by that?" He didn't like where this was going…

"Like, you don't think like Scott or Evan, right? You don't think I should dump Pietro just because he's in the Brotherhood, right? I mean, if it weren't for that there wouldn't be a problem."

"Kitty… if you really like him I have no problem with you being with him… it's just that… are you sure he's not playing around with you?"

Kitty thought about that for a while. In fact, she had thought about that a lot, it just didn't look that way though. If Pietro really didn't care he wouldn't have been so nervous the first time they kissed or he wouldn't have blushed. Kitty laughed a bit as she remembered how red his whole face looked… of course hers wasn't any better.

If he was playing then he was one heck of an actor.

"I don't think he is Kurt, but like if we ever find out that he was… you'll like, beat him for me, alright?" and with that Kitty stood up and phased through the door on her way to the Professor's office.

"Umm?… Me? Oh gee, thanks Kitty…" then Kurt teleported outside.

****************************************************

Professor Charles Xavier had always thought he was prepared for anything his adversaries could throw at his X-men. That's what he was training them for, to be prepared for the unexpected. He could anticipate attacks and sneaky plans… but never had it ever entered his mind the possibility of one of his children to be in love with a Brotherhood member.

"Professor?… Are you alright?" Storm was standing next to Xavier as they waited for Kitty to arrive.

"Yes, yes Ororo… I was just thinking what an odd turn of events have befallen us…"

"Yes Professor… I never would havethought Kitty and Quicksilver would be together… what are we going to do about this?"

"I'm afraid I'm not sure… I've tried to search the boy's mind, it's rather unorganized right now… but it seems his feeling for Kitty are true…"

"Perhaps the boy might join us now Professor?"

"Not likely Ororo… Pietro is very loyal to his friends and although he does love Kitty I don't think he could stand living here with your nephew."

"Oh yes… Evan really took it personally when he heard about those two." Storm had tried to control her nephew, but the inevitable happened at the mention of Pietro's name… a few pointy spikes were still decorating the wall in living room.

A gentle knock was heard at the door as the shy face of Kitty Pryde entered the Professor's office.

"Like, Kurt said you wanted to see me?" 

"Yes Kitty… please sit down."

Kitty knew what was coming. The Professor and Storm had joined forces to stop her from seeing Pietro again…

~~ It's like totally unfair you know!… We didn't do anything wrong! ~~ 

"I know you didn't do anything wrong Kitty… we just want to talk." The Professor wasn't wasting time asking her anything… he was simply reading her thoughts.

~~ Like, almost forgot he could do that… ~~

The Professor smiled a bit… then continued talking to Kitty.

"How long has this been going on Kitty?"

"Like, I'm not sure… maybe a couple of weeks…" Kitty was feeling a bit nervous and she showed it by playing with her fingers. She just wanted to know what to do to make things right again…

"Professor, like… what do you think I should do? I don't want to like, leave Pietro but like I can't have Scott and Evan looking at me funny all the time."

Xavier thought about this for a while… he exchanged a few meaningful glances with Storm who only nodded from time to time. After what seemed like an eternity Xavier simply looked at Kitty and told her what she should do.

"This is your decision Kitty… no one else can make it. Don't let Scott or Evan do it for you, but be careful when dealing with any Brotherhood member. You never know what they could be up to."

~~ That's it?….. that's like, the 'Big Advise'?… Like, NO WAY you know… Kurt already told me something like that… And here I thought the Professor could like help me out here… turns out I could've read what he just told me out the back of a cereal box! What kind of a thing is that to say… 'My decision, my decision'… what if I decided to join the Brotherhood just to be with Pietro, huh? Maybe he'd freak out with that… or maybe not … you never know. I completely feel like I've wasted my time coming here you know… ~~ 

Kitty would have continued to expand on her thoughts but the Professor did something that made her stop. He started to gently tap on his head using his index finger. He continued to tap, and tap, and tap…. Kitty was lost on the soft tapping but she didn't understand why the Professor was doing that. Soon though his voice broke through the mesmerizing trance that his fingers had started.

"Kitty?…." said the Professor in a very calm and gentle voice.

"Yeah…?"

"You are aware I can read you thoughts…" 

Kitty's eyes were wide when she suddenly realized he had heard everything she had been thinking. After that what else could she say to answer him? Only two words entered her mind at the moment…

"DAMN IT!" Kitty was blushing furiously.

"It would seem you are spending too much time with Quicksilver…" Storm hadn't been expecting Kitty to answer like that.

~~ Damn it!… Damn it!… Damn it!!…. oh, like… he can hear me! Ok, I just won't think you know… not thinking… not thinking at all… ~~

The Professor didn't know what else to say to Kitty. She had to make this decision by herself. Perhaps having these two children together would not be such a bad thing. It could draw the two mutant teams together… but then again, that was his optimistic side taking over. Xavier knew full well Magneto would never allow it and he guessed Mystique hadn't yet heard of what the young sophomore was doing with his free time.

"Kitty… it's quite alright. You do not need to come with a solution right now. In fact, you should talk this situation over with Quicksilver and try to come up with a solution… just remember whatever you decide must not place the team in any danger … that includes yourself."

"Yeah, I know Professor… Pietro and I don't talk about our teams… we just… _talk_…" she didn't know how to explain it… it was as if whenever she was with him she could pretend they weren't mutants and that everything was normal… it felt so good to not be reminded the reason why she had to leave her parents house.

Soon after that Kitty was heading toward her room again. 

~~ I just want to be alone for a while… ~~ but as soon as Kitty phased through her door she noticed she wouldn't be allowed that chance.

"So… I hear you have yourself a new _boyfriend_…" Rogue was sitting down on her bed brushing her hair as Kitty simply came in and landed unceremoniously on her bed.

"Like, don't you be telling me to dump him too you know… Scott's doing a good enough job by himself." Kitty suddenly felt a pillow hitting her. 

"Hey!" she cried snatching the pillow.

"That's for not telling me… and you can date whoever you want… so long as I'm not interested in him." Rogue winked at her roommate as she continued to brush her hair.

~~ Well, like that was weird… hope Pietro is having a better time with this then me… ~~

***********************************************

End Chapter 9


	10. A Lovers Feud part 10

A Lovers Feud

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 10**

********************************************************** 

Pietro had been expecting Lance to be on his case over the whole 'Pietro-loves-Kitty' thing… but it turns out his weekend had been a very peaceful one so far. Too peaceful. Todd had tried to talk to him about it… Pietro had just smiled and nodded to everything the young freshman said. He couldn't believe Todd was so scared of him leaving the Brotherhood.

"I do like Kitty, but I'm not leaving you guys. Who else do you think would endure me so long?!" Pietro had joked about it with Todd. It did seem to relax the young mutant a bit. 

Now however Pietro, Freddy and Todd were simply sitting down on the breakfast table looking almost dead. Lance was outside working on his car again so at least one of them had something half interesting to do.

Pietro looked over at Todd. The young mutant was turning the pages of some old magazine. He wasn't really reading anything, in fact Pietro wasn't sure if he was even looking at the pictures.

He then looked at Freddy. Now that was scary. The huge mutant looked like he was suffering a fate worse then death… Pietro understood his feelings all too well… all three of them were… BORED!

Pietro had to find something to do… ANYTHING! He suddenly remembered this cute little monologue he had heard a long time ago and decided to recite it…

"Worms…. I hate worms…. Worms drive me crazy!….. Craaaaaazy…. I was crazy once, and then they locked me up! And then I DIED! And then the worms came in……. Worms…. I hate worms….. Worms drive me crazy!…… Craaaaazy…… I was crazy once, and then they locked me up! And then I DIED! And then the worms came in……. Worms…. I hate worms…. Worms drive me crazy!….. Craaaaazy…. I was crazy once, and then they locked me up! And then I DIED! And then the worms came in……. Worms…. I hate…"

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP!?!??!" Todd couldn't take it anymore… the young mutant looked ready to beat the white haired boy to death with his old magazine. Fred didn't really look annoyed… he was just starring at Pietro. Probably thinking about how craaaaazy Pietro _really_ was…

"Well… find something for me to do and I wont continue saying that…" Pietro crossed his arms over his chest waiting to hear what Todd would come up with.

"We could watch TV?" Todd really didn't feel like doing that though.

"Nothing good on… try again."

"We could help Lance with his car?"

"And risk deathat his hands?… you know nobody can touch that car but him." Not that Pietro hadn't tried… in fact, the young speed demon loved to try to steal Lance's car away… somehow though Lance always stopped him by saying he'd make a mess of Pietro's room if he did.

"Well… we could…. we could… do our homework?"

Freddy and Pietro just stared at their small friend for a while before bursting with laughter.

"That's a good one Todd!" Freddy was laughing very loud right now.

Lance decided to come back into the house at that moment. It had been a while since he'd seen those three laughing so hard. Well…. Pietro and Freddy were the only ones laughing… probably at Todd. 

~~ Some things never change… ~~ Lance thought as he walked into the kitchen. 

~~ Time to be a big brother again… ~~

"And why are you all laughing so much?" Lance asked as he looked inside the fridge.

"Todd wants us to do our homework…." Pietro was petting Todd's head as if he were a child. Lance could see Todd was about to scream.

"Well, you all look bored enough… why don't ya?" 

"Because Lance boy…. I _already did_ all my homework…" answered Pietro crossing his arms over his chest again.

"You did?!" asked both Todd and Fred.

"Duh!" 

"Then why were you laughing about doing homework on a Saturday when you already had yours done?!" Todd was about to explode.

Pietro just snickered. "Cause you sounded so cuuuuuute saying that." Pietro was petting him like a child again. 

Lance decided to change the subject.

"Ok… then later Pietro can help Freddy do his homework. Happy Pietro?"

"Not really…"

"What about me?" asked Todd as he went to look inside the fridge next to Lance.

"I'll help you Todd… but right now we need to find out what we're having for lunch." Lance noticed they had already ran out of all the microwave meals so their only option was to cook.

"Whose turn is it on the kitchen?" Lance asked looking over the three younger mutants.

Both Fred and Todd pointed to Pietro who for his part seemed oblivious to everything as he simply sat there with his arms crossed.

"I'm on strike!" said Pietro who was well aware he was being pointed at.

"Why?" Freddy was starting to get hungry and he wanted someone to cook something now.

"For the simple reason Freddy that I can. Besides, I don't want to cook! Lance, go buy us something!"

This last comment got Fred and Todd's attention. It had been a while since they had eaten out considering cafeteria food didn't count.

"Oh Lance, can we?!" Todd was already pulling Lance's arm off.

~~ Oh crap, there goes my paycheck… ~~ thought Lance as he grabbed his wallet.

"Fine! What do you guys want? …" He figured they could afford this, after all what was one eating out going to do?

"Burgers! I want burgers!" answered Todd after thinking about it for a while.

"Pizza! Buy pizza!" that was Freddy.

"We had pizza last time!" Todd was _not_ eating that again.

"But that's what I want to eat!" Freddy was a fan.

"Sushi! Go buy us some sushi!" 

Lance just stared at Pietro for a while. 

~~ No… heaven forbid he wants a pizza or burgers… he wants _sushi_… ~~ thought Lance as he began to get tired of hearing Todd and Fred bickering.

"Alright! So we all agree!… We're eating friend chicken!" and with that Lance grabbed his car keys and Pietro and headed out the door.

Todd and Fred just sighed in defeat as they watched the two boys walk away.

"At least it's not pizza…" muttered Todd under his breath.

******************************************************

"Are we there yet?"

"No…"

"Is it far?"

"No…"

"Why are we eating fried chicken?"

"No… oh, I'm sorry… what?" Lance smiled sheepishly at Pietro since the white haired boy didn't look too amused.

"Why fried chicken?" Pietro asked again as he played around with the radio.

"I'm getting some for me, then we make a quick stop for some pizza and burgers and we go home."

"Oh my! You're so benevolent Lance! That's why we love you!"

"Sip it! It's not happening again! … Next time we're ALL eating fried chicken!"

"What about my sushi?"

"You're eating pizza." Buying the sushi was just a little too off their route.

"Nah, I'm sick of pizza… I'll get some chicken."

"Ok…" Lance was quiet for a while, but he just couldn't help himself. "Pietro? … do you really like Pryde?"

"I KNEW IT!!!" Pietro was glaring daggers at Lance right now. "I knew this was the reason you brought me with you! You've been keeping yourself pretty quiet, haven't ya? But you just had to ask! Well… I'm not telling you anything!"

"Freddy says you really like her…"

"I don't know what you're talking about. And besides, Freddy is a compulsive liar!"

"Todd seems to think so too…"

"… Damn them! Traitors!… Fine! FINE! So what if I do?! What are you going to do about it?!" Pietro was all defensive. He was stuck inside a car all alone with Lance. The thought that the older boy might beat him to death was starting to scare him. 

"Nothing… it's just that… well, I hope you realize things will get complicated…" Lance was trying to talk some sense into Pietro… unfortunately the young sophomore had never taken lightly to reason.

"Lance… all this time with me and you still haven't figured it out?… I love it when things are complicated." Pietro smiled at his older friend who simply kept driving.

"Mystique will kick your ass…"

"Not if she doesn't find out…" 

"As if it's going to be a secret for long… Come on Pietro, we know, those X-geeks know… soon the whole school will too and Mystique will be out looking for your blood."

Pietro simply looked out the window… it wasn't as if he hadn't thought about Mystique finding out. In fact, he didn't want to imagine what she would do to him… which was the reason why he didn't even think about it.

"Let's just worry about that when it happens…. Hey… wasn't that the restaurant?…"

"Oh damn…."

********************************************* 

Todd was on the couch gazing at the television set while Freddy was looking over some more old magazines. There really wasn't anything good on at the moment, they were just completely bored while they waited for Lance and Pietro to arrive with their food. Suddenly Todd thought of something and he quickly turned over to discuss it with Fred.

"Hey Freddy… why did Lance take Pietro to buy the food?"

"Maybe he didn't feel like carrying all the food by himself?" Fred kept looking over the magazines.

"Yeah but… he could've taken you… oh my god Freddy, you don't suppose Lance is gonna kill Pietro now?" Todd still hadn't seen the two boys argue over the whole 'Pryde' incident… he was still waiting for the war to start.

"Not likely…" Fred wasn't so sure though. "Maybe he just wanted to talk to him."

"Yeah, guess you're right…. Oh great! We have a mouse in here. Quick Freddy, give me your shoe!"

"Why _my_ shoe?" Fred asked a bit annoyed.

"Cause it's big enough… Quick Freddy before it gets away! Man, it's almost like it knew I'm gonna catch it!…."

Todd quickly grabbed Fred's shoe and jumped behind the unsuspecting mouse but just as he was about to kill it a voice was heard loud and clear across the house.

"Do that and you're DEAD Mr. Tolensky!"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" cried both Todd and Fred as both boys jumped onto the couch.

The small mouse slowly started to get bigger until the boys realized it had been Mystique all along.

"GOD! YOU JUST DON'T DO THAT TO A PERSON YO!" Todd was near hysterics.

Fred for his part was in a coma.

"Fred?… Freddy?!….oh great, you killed Freddy."

"Snap out of it Mr. Dukes!" Mystique screamed at the huge mutant but he didn't move.

"He'll recover soon…" she paid no more attention to the shocked Freddy on the couch"Now, I came here to check on you boys and what do I find?… You boys have been keeping things from me… what's this about Alvers killing Maximoff?"

Todd looked nervous for a while… he wasn't going to rat on his friend, but it was hard to keep things from Mystique.

"Oh you know… Pietro is always doing something that makes us all want to kill him from time to time." Todd smiled innocently at his latest guardian and hoped she would not ask any other questions. 

"And just where are Mr. Alvers and Mr. Maximoff now?"

"They went out to buy something to eat… but chances are they wont be back for a while…"

"And why is that Mr. Tolensky?"

"Cause Pietro can never decided on what to order…" Todd realized at that moment that they were going to starve to death.

****************************************************

"I want…. No, not that….. I want….. eew! How dare they serve that?…. I want….."

"PIETRO! Choose something already!" Lance was getting a headache. It took all of his self control not to start shaking the restaurant down, that would only further his aching head.

"But I wanted sushi!…. If you had bought me sushi I wouldn't have to be making decisions now." Pietro was enjoying making Lance angry. He had come to the conclusion that it was indeed his sole mission on Earth to annoy Lance.

"Pietro… we still have to buy the burgers and pizza so can you please make up your mind already… Honestly, no wonder you and Pryde get along so well, you're both so hopeless…"

Pietro didn't like that last comment. He was not hopeless, and Kitty definitely wasn't either… 

~~ Stupid Lance… oh, I'll show him! ~~

"Lance!" Pietro fakes surprise "Can it be that you don't want me to be with Kitty because somehow you…. You have _feelings_ for her?!"

"What?!"

"You can tell me Lance boy… I won't make fun of you. I mean, I made fun of your apron at 'Little Washu's Candy Factory' but that was just too much."

"I do NOT have _feelings_ for Pryde! That girl is just annoying and… and… and she's annoying and…."

Pietro turned back to the (by now) out of patience restaurant employee who was waiting to take their order.

"Yes, I'll have combo #1…. Oh, combo #2 looks good too…. Give me one of those…. And combos from 3 till 6. I also want 10 apple pies, 10 milkshakes, 10 extra large cokes and…" Pietro kept ordering as Lance kept talking to himself.

"…. And that is why Pietro I just do NOT have _feelings_ for that annoying Kitty! You got that?!… Pietro?"

"Umm?"

"Were you listening to me?"

"Sure I was… and you were right. Anyway, I'm done here you can order whatever you want so we can go."

Lance took a moment to register the fact that Pietro had so easily admitted he was right. His headache was almost gone by now, all he had to do was order what he wanted so they could go home as soon as possible and then he could find some Tylenol.

Lance then turned to the employee and gave his order.

"I'll have a combo #2, that will all be to go." He took out his wallet getting ready to pay.

"Alright sir, that would be $83.56."

Lance didn't move…. He just stared at the employee as if he had grown two heads.

"What did you say?"

"That would be $83.56 sir…"

Lance looked around for Pietro, but the white haired demon was already out of the restaurant and safely locked inside the car making stupid faces and sticking out his tongue at Lance through the window.

Lance felt his headache getting just a bit more like a migraine.

***************************************************

Todd was busy placing a wet cloth on top of Fred's forehead. The huge mutant had yet to wake up from the scare Mystique had put them through.

"Freddy… if you can hear me, blink!" that wasn't working.

"Ok… if you can hear me… move your hand." That wasn't working either.

"Fine… if you can hear me, breath." That one worked, not like it mattered much though.

Mystique hadn't left yet. She wanted to make sure 'Mr. Maximoff' was alright since she had noticed he had been acting rather _strange_ lately.

~~ That was an understatement… ~~ thought Todd as he looked over Fred again.

"Mr. Tolensky… this place is a mess." Todd winced a little at this, he knew Mystique would make Lance responsible for the house and he just didn't want to get his friend into any trouble.

"Umm…. We were going to clean it up after we ate." 

Mystique looked at her watch for the millionth time. Those two were sure late… Todd was beginning to imagine that Lance and Pietro really had started fighting and that something terrible had happened… somehow though, he knew that couldn't be. Lance was acting very tolerable about this whole "Pietro-loves-Kitty" situation.

Of course, Todd knew the only reason Lance seemed 'ok' with it was because he was sure Summers was doing his dirty work for him. Scott wouldn't let Kitty be with Pietro and Kitty would most likely agree with anything Scott said so in the end Kitty would be the one to break things up. Lance didn't have to lift a finger.

"When are they going to get here?" Mystique was loosing patience.

"Well… I'm not sure yo…. Soon I guess…" Todd crossed his fingers and prayed his friends got home soon. He couldn't be alone with Mystique for so long.

******************************************************

"Don't you ever, EVER do that to me again!" Lance got into the car and angrily closed the door.

"So… what did you get me?!" Pietro was oblivious to his friend's anger and simply started to move things inside the bags.

"I should let you starve for the prank you just pulled!"

"What?! No milkshake?…" Pietro was looking over the bags as Lance was driving out of the parking lot.

"There was a huge line behind us and they were all ready to kill me!"

"Where are the apple pies?"

"I don't know why I bother taking you places with me!"

"You didn't buy the apple pies, did you?…"

"OF COURSE I DIDN'T BUY THE APPLE PIES!" Lance stopped over a red light. "I got you same as me, a combo #2 with a Sprite. Now be happy!"

"Oh thank you Lance that's just what I wanted!" Pietro smiled and gave Lance a quick hug.

"Shut up!"

After that they went to buy the burgers. That was an easy stop since they basically knew what Todd wanted and they didn't have to wait very long. However, the pizza was another story. 

"How many boxes of pizza should we buy Freddy?" Pietro looked over the prices and the ingredients as Lance was counting how much money they had left.

"We're getting three large pizzas, no added ingredients." 

Pietro just gave him the 'look'…. He wanted to see if it was only Kitty who had an effect with him and that 'look'.

"What!?… that's all we can afford!…. Stop looking at me like that!"

~~ Wow! Powerful weapon… ~~ thought Pietro as he sat down.

The pizzas were going to take a while, or so they were informed. Why they waited for the last possible moment to start making those pizzas was beyond him. It's not like people would be coming here looking for anything else.

Everything was going fine… a little boring, but fine… until two persons walked through the door. Lance and Pietro noticed those two persons… and they in turn noticed them.

"Daniels!…." Pietro was seeing red.

"No Rogue!… not now…" Lance was just asking for patience.

*****************************************************

Evan and Rogue had decided to get some pizza for lunch, that way they had an escape from the evil 'most-go-to-Danger-Room' Summers. Unfortunately they hadn't anticipated meeting half the Brotherhood there, specially the one member who had caused such a mess of their weekend. 

"Why most I see him everywhere I go?!" Evan was not having a good day.

"Just ignore them Evan… they came to eat, so did we… so let's just do that." Rogue didn't want to start fighting those two now. She was hungry.

The two X-men sat down on one of the booths that had a window on its side. Evan kept glaring at Pietro and Pietro kept starring at Evan. Neither of them did much other then send mental death threats to each other for a while. Thankfully Evan broke eye contact when their waitress came to get their order.

"I have to kill him…. I have to Lance… I'll just go crazy if I don't kill Evan!" Pietro was looking around for some huge object to throw at the annoying X-men.

"Pietro…" Lance started to rub his head. "There is nothing I'd like more then killing an X-geek… but I'm just too tired and hungry to fight. Now, just ignore him since he hasn't done anything to you and lets go home."

"But he's looking at me Lance!… He's LOOKING at me!!!"

"Pietro, right now _everyone_ is looking at you…."

Pietro grabbed a straw and started to chew on it to make his excitement go away.

~~ Good, he's busy chewing the straw. Now if only our order came out already we could leave and nothing would happen. ~~ Lance kept an eye out for the pizzas, but neglected to watch as Pietro was making a spitball.

"But he's looking at me Rogue!… He's LOOKING at me!!!"

"Evan, relax!… he can look at you, it's not a crime you know… just ignore him." Rogue just wanted to eat, she didn't want to fight, she was sick of that. All thanks to Scott and his addiction to the Danger Room.

"Fine… but if he looks at me funny again I'm gonna.. OUCH! Something bit me!!" Evan looked back to where Pietro was trying to hold back from snickering.

"It was HIM!" Evan thought he'd go mad.

"Evan, maybe it was a mosquito or something… how could he be responsible that something bit you?" Rogue just wanted a relaxing afternoon off, not to be babysitting Daniels.

"He's laughing… he caused this! He's fast enough to have done it!"

Rogue just sighed and wished their pizza would get here.

Pietro was having fun. He lock and loaded another spitball that also landed right where he wanted, therefore he got the desired effect of an 'ouch!' from Evan.

"Ha ha ha… sucker!" Pietro suddenly felt his straw being taken away from him. "HEY! Not fair! I was using that!"

"Stop it! I told you not to pick a fight today… I have a headache…" Lance threw the straw in the trashcan as Pietro continued to pout.

~~ Well,… if I can't have my fun long distance, guess I'm gonna have to go up close and personal… ~~ Pietro smiled to himself as he ran at his super speed and suddenly appeared sitting right next to Evan.

"What are you doing here?!" small spikes were beginning to emerge from Evan's shoulder.

"I thought you guys were lonely and needed me to keep you company." Said Pietro as he took a long drink from Evan's coke.

"We are fine Pietro, now go back to Lance before anything happens…" Rogue wanted him gone.

"Such as…?" was that the sound of a challenge coming on? Pietro would have found out if Lance hadn't butted in.

"Ok!… Pietro our pizzas are done, we're going home." Lance took one long look at Evan who seemed like he wanted to say something but Lance wouldn't have it. "Not one peep out of you Daniels!…Come on Pietro, we're leaving." 

"But we were just getting to the good part!" Pietro winked at Rogue as she made a disgusted face. 

"Yeah, the part where you're leaving…" Rogue couldn't wait for them to leave.

"Man… how could Kitty have fallen for someone like you is beyond me!… You did something to her, didn't you!" Evan was about ready to land some spikes through Pietro's head. 

"What do you mean I did something to her?!… I did nothing wrong! You hear me Daniels!" Pietro was again seeing red.

"You have to be using her or blackmailing her or something… why else would she go out with you?"

Pietro was left in such a state of shock that for once in his life he didn't have a snappy comeback. He would never do anything to hurt Kitty, and here Daniels was implying he was practically forcing her to be his girlfriend… He wanted to do so many things to Evan he didn't know where to begin.

Lance however wasn't going to let this become a huge fight.

"I thought I told you not to make a peep Daniels! Pietro come on! We're going home." Lance was starting to drag the white haired boy away.

Rogue was watching Pietro closely. He looked… hurt. 

~~ Maybe he's not playing with Kitty after all…. Maybe… maybe Scott is wrong about them being together… ~~ Since the moment they found out about those two Scott and Evan had been walking around the mansion all tensed up. At first Rogue thought they were right, for crying out load… it was Pietro Maximoff they were talking about here.

But now… now she wasn't sure.

A few things happened rather too quickly after that. Thinking back on it Rogue supposed she shouldn't have been amazed… after all, speed was Pietro's strong suit.

The white haired mutant cut himself loose of Lance's grasp and landed a punch right on Evan's face. Evan for his part wasn't expecting Pietro to attack like that so he fell back and landed on the table making it fall on the floor and making a huge mess of coke all over the place.

Lance was now holding Pietro back but Evan had gotten to his feet and would have been able to punch the sophomore without a problem if Rogue hadn't stepped in. Taking off one of her gloves she reached out to Evan and grabbed him by his arm. Immediately her mutation kicked in as Evan fell unconscious to the floor and Rogue's shirt suddenly had a few extra holes from where some small spikes where making their way.

The manager of the restaurant went over to where the small fight had started and the young mutants were kicked out rather ungracefully. Pietro had calmed down by now so Lance let him go and went over to carry the unconscious Evan out of the restaurant. Once outside the three mutants looked at each other. 

"Why you do that?" Lance asked Rogue who simply shrugged in response.

Lance sighed, they had to get going back home. Chances were Freddy had become so hungry he could've eaten Todd.

"Do you have your car around here?" he asked looking around the parking lot.

"I can't drive yet Lance… Evan and I took the bus over here."

"Well… you can't very well take Daniels like this…" Lance sighed once more as he made his way to his car. "Well Come on… I'm taking you guys home."

"What?!" asked both Rogue and Pietro at the same time.

********************************************

Lance was driving toward the Institute with Rogue right beside him. Meanwhile Pietro was in the back with Evan's head on his lap. The stupid kid was still knocked out. Occasionally Pietro would start to slap Evan on the head but after a few times Rogue caught him.

"I told you to stop doing that Pietro! He's unconscious, not dead!"

"Of course he's not dead… I'm not that lucky!… Besides, he's not loosing any brain cells, he didn't have any to begin with!" Pietro stared out the window hoping they could go back home soon.

"Just stop hitting him, alright?" Rogue went back to look out the road when suddenly the sound of a few 'slaps' were heard.

"Now what did I just say?!" Rogue turned around and took off her glove showing Pietro her bare hand. He knew what she'd do if he got her angry.

"Oh! You meant now?… my bad…."

Lance just laughed a bit… but controlled himself when he caught Rogue starring at him. 

"I can't believe you let him do that…" Rogue said in mock disbelief.

"He's not hurting Daniels you know… and the guy deserves it anyway…." That only got Lance some more starring from Rogue. "Ok, ok…. Pietro, stop doing that please…." 

"Thank you." Was all Rogue said as she continued to look at the road.

"Man, tight leash they have you on, huh Lance boy?" Pietro snickered for a while but stopped when both Lance and Rogue turned around and shouted at him to shut up!

"Lance the road! The road!… WATCH THE ROAD!!"

Things were quiet for a while after that… but soon Pietro started to smack Evan again which in turn made Rogue start screaming at Pietro again and Lance just couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing hysterically.

Five minutes after that they had reached the Institute. 

****************************************************

Kitty was tired, in fact they all were. Scott had insisted on everyone practicing in the Danger Room today and since they all sensed he was still upset over the whole 'Pietro situation' they decided to humor him. 

~~ Like, that was a bad idea. ~~ Kitty ached all over. Jean had gone up to her room to relax a bit, she didn't know where Kurt was at the moment and as for Rogue and Evan… those two had been lucky enough to escape the 'evil' Scott and go downtown to buy some pizza.

~~ Wish I were there with them now… ~~ She could definitely go for some pizza, however she decided she didn't want Evan's company at the moment. The young boy wasn't being mean or anything, he just still couldn't believe she was seeing Pietro.

~~ Like, how many times had he asked if I was serious?!… ~~

Kitty was now up in her room, she was thankful she had it all to herself now that Rogue was out. Explaining the whole 'Pietro situation' hadn't been as hard as she thought. The Professor said it was her choice and the rest of the gang was pretty understanding except for Evan and Scott.

While Evan kept himself in disbelief, Scott simply kept himself at a distance. He hardly talked to Kitty in fear probably that he would get angry with her. 

Kurt was very understanding… but she expected that. It had been Rogue's quick acceptance that had surprised her. Her usual dark and lonely attitude had somehow been broken by that news and Kitty found herself talking to Rogue more and more.

Jean however, hadn't expressed herself yet. All she said was to be careful, because _'one never knew if Quicksilver was just playing with her'_, but even Kurt and Rogue had advised her the same way. Kitty could only guess Jean was more on Scott and Evan's side of the whole argument.

Now in her room she was looking over a few CDs that would relax her… no such thing in her room since Rogue had all her rock music everywhere. Perhaps a soothing walk on the garden was what she needed, after all she had been cooped up inside for too long.

The idea of a nice relaxing walk was soon shattered as she looked out the window and spotted an old car driving through the Institute's gates. Kitty knew that car… it didn't belong to the Professor that was for sure… but where had she seen it before? Suddenly the person driving came into view…

~~ Like… no way! ~~

Lance was coming out of the car followed by Rogue.

~~ Why is she with him? ~~

Soon Kitty saw Lance carrying a limp figure toward the door. She didn't like this at all. It was Evan… and for some reason he was unconscious. Kitty was starting to get a headache. The next thing she saw was the mischievous white haired boy running up next to Lance and slapping Evan on the head a few times. This made Rogue scream at him some more… heck, even Lance screamed at him to stay inside the car.

"Hey Kitty, what are you doing?" 

The young freshman turned around quickly to come face to face with Scott.

"Like nothing. Just wanted to go walk in the garden. You want to come with me?"

~~ Like, tell me he hasn't seen this! Tell me hasn't seen this!!!! ~~ 

"Well, actually I did want to talk to you about something Kitty…. Who is that?" Scott was looking over her shoulder.

"No one!"

"Is that Rogue… but who dropped her off?"

"Like, you wanted to talk to me, right? Well… let's talk, ok?"

"… Alvers…." And with that Scott took off toward the entrance.

~~ Like… oh God! ~~ Kitty needed some Advil.

********************************************************

"Stay in the car and don't touch anything!" Lance knew they weren't welcomed at the Institute, but he couldn't just leave Rogue with an unconscious Evan in the middle of nowhere. 

Pietro sulked for a while. He wanted to go home and eat already, Freddy and Todd were probably going crazy by now. Why were they being so nice to these X-geeks anyway? Pietro then realized he had to start behaving toward them if he wanted to be with Kitty. Yet another of the many complications Lance had warned him about.

Rogue poked her head inside the car and looked at Pietro for a moment. 

"Hey… you want to talk to Kitty for a while?" she asked a little uncertain.

"You know I do, but that just isn't very smart coming here with that unconscious idiot right now." Pietro pointed at Evan while he looked over Rogue. He leaned in a bit closer and whispered his next words.

"Hey… how did you guys take it anyway? … Kitty is not in trouble, is she?"

Rogue thought about it for a while. Pietro really did look concern… she thought that was rather cute.

"Nah… nothing that Scott won't get over after a few more battles in the Danger Room." Rogue smiled at the young sophomore and she saw his confused face as he softly whispered to himself the phrase 'Danger Room'.

Without anyone noticing Rogue took off her gloves and landed a soft touch on Pietro's hand. It wasn't enough to make him unconscious, just to send a small shiver through them both.

"Why did you do that?!" asked the white haired boy as he willed his body to stop shaking.

"Just had to find out something sugah… later" and then Rogue was gone.

"Hey you know… this kid is heavier then he looks." Lance had been momentarily forgotten while Rogue and Pietro had been busy talking.

~~ We have to get out of here, we have to get out of here… ~~ Lance knew it was just a matter of moments before one of those X-geeks found him holding an unconscious Evan in his arms. He knew it looked bad and that guy… Wolverine, was it? Would be coming over to slice him to little pieces. A fight with Scott Summers he could handle… an angry man with pointy knifes coming out of his knuckles… he could not.

"You know… chances are Todd has already killed Freddy in self defense…"

"I know, I know… you all have to go…" Rogue didn't know what to do. She couldn't let Lance inside the Institute but she didn't want to call on anyone to pick Evan up. 

"Just… leave him over there and after you go I'll call for Logan to come pick him up."

Lance looked over at Pietro who just kept giving him signals for them to go, of course hearing that Wolverine would be coming shortly was also a good reason to just dump the kid and run for it.

"Ok, have it your way…" Lance placed Evan in front of the Institute's door and then turned to look at Rogue. "You know… it's funny… I was expecting to find Scott trying to kill me by now…"

"Now why would you think that?" Rogue felt like she had to defend her friend. "You know, Scott isn't out to fight with you all the time… he's pretty mature and knows when he should calmly ask 'what's going on?' before exploding at someone."

"ALVERS! WHAT DID YOU DO TO EVAN?!" Scott stood next to the unconscious boy as he yelled over to Lance.

Rogue was mentally kicking herself, Lance was simply not surprised to finally hear someone was out to kill him, Pietro kept muttering something about a half-crazed lunatic and looking out the window was Kitty Pryde swallowingthree Advil's. 

**********************************************

_"Day 24…. Our search for food proves fruitless… (no pun intended). Freddy has passed out from lack of proteins almost an hour ago… Lance and Pietro probably took off with the food and are now reaching the border over to Canada…. Nothing can stop them now!"_

"TOLENSKY!… What are you doing?" Mystique had been asking the boy if he had been listening to her, the answer of course came when she had to ask him that over four times.

"Nothing!" answered the young mutant as he quickly closed the small notebook he had been writing his fake diary in. He figured if someday someone found them dead from starvation at least this way they'd know who to blame.

Todd was amazingly relieved when he saw a familiar car pull in on their driveway. 

~~ FINALLY!… It took them long enough! ~~ Todd jumped away from Mystique for a while and reached his friends as quick as his hunger would allow.

"Hey yo! Mystique is in there… what took you guys so long anyway?! I'm starving! Oh, and Freddy passed out and he doesn't want to wake up."

Lance's eyes got wide as he looked at Todd for a while.

"He's alright yo! I checked…. I wouldn't be here talking about food if he was hurt alright… but really, what took you guys?" Todd was frantically looking for is burgers.

"Lance boy here had to play Good Samaritan to the X-geeks." Pietro was holding Todd's bag… and wouldn't let go.

"That's mine Pietro!… the X-geeks? Why were you guys with the X-geeks?… Hand it over already!"

"I don't want to talk about it… now, why is Mystique here?" Lance really needed those Tylenols.

"Give it back Pietro!… I don't know, she was concerned over her precious Mr. Maximoff… Give it yo! I'm hungry!" Todd kept jumping for the bag but Pietro kept running past him.

"Aw! Little Todd wants to eat now…. He has to catch his meal though. You can't catch me! You can't catch me! You can't …oooff!"

Lance managed to stop Pietro and dragged him toward the car again.

"Give Todd his food and get our bags, I'll carry the pizzas and not a word to Mystique about what just happened! Got that?!" Lance was taking all the food out of the car now and handing some of it to the other two boys.

"Oh Lance! You're no fun… fine, whatever… as if I'd tell her anything…"

As they walked inside the house Lance noticed how quiet it was. Of course, whenever Mystique visited it was always quiet, she couldn't stand the noise they made and she probably wanted to pretend they were usually this quiet even when she wasn't around. 

Then he spotted the main reason the house was so dead… Freddy wasn't watching TV. Freddy always watched TV, that's what filled the house with the extra noise they needed whenever Pietro wasn't up to something.

"Where were you?" Mystique wasted no time in getting her answers.

"Out buying food." Lance went over to the kitchen and placed the pizza boxes on the table.

"And what took you so long?" Mystique knew Lance was hiding something from her, somehow parents and legal guardians always knew.

"Umm…"~~ Well, we met up with two of the X-men and one of them ended up unconscious (not by us, by the way) and I felt responsible for them and I drove them to their home only to be attacked and seriously ticked off!…. No, I can't say that… ~~ 

"Well you see… Pietro couldn't decide on what to eat!" Lance was glad to get the attention away from him for a while. He walked over Freddy holding a slice of pizza.

"Freddy…. Oh Freddy…. Look what I've got…. Piiiiiiiiizza."

Mystique turned toward Pietro now.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, yeah… Lance was stingy and didn't want to buy me sushi." 

~~ Stupid Lance!~~ thought Pietro as he glared at the older mutant trying to feed Freddy.

~~ Stupid Pietro! See if I ever buy you junk food! ~~ Lance managed to move his hand out in time as Freddy's mouth devoured the pizza he had been holding.

"MAN! You _were_ hungry!"

Freddy just sat up and continued to eat his pizza as if he hadn't been unconscious at all. Food was always a type of cure-all for the big mutant.

"So, allow me to get this straight… You were gone this long because Pietro couldn't decide what to order?" Did these children think she had been born yesterday?!

"Yes. That's right!" answered a smiling, innocent looking Pietro.

Todd was happily eating his burgers away while rejoicing on the fact that he didn't have to pay attention to Mystique… well, not much anyway. Lance however kept looking around for something, _anything _that could make their legal guardian leave.

Todd turned around and watched as Pietro kept saying 'no' to all the questions Mystique gave him. 'Was he having some problems?' 'Did he sleep enough?' 'Was he on drugs or something?' Todd made a face at that question…

~~ The guy can be annoying during a sugar high but, _really_! ~~ Todd simply kept eating.

Suddenly Pietro did something that would forever give them all nightmares… Pietro hugged Mystique.

"What the hell?" Lance said as he watched stupefied from the couch.

Todd stopped eating while Freddy kept destroying the pizza… the huge mutant never really paid much attention anyway.

"Ok… I'm only going to say this once. Get off me." Mystique needed patience…

"But I love you!" Pietro had on one of his maniacal smiles, the type that make you wish you were anywhere else except right there.

"I… I have to go now!… I have some important papers to take care of. Let go of me Maximoff!"

"Ok!" Pietro let go of his dear Principal and all the Brotherhood watched as Mystique made her way to her car while muttering something about crazy kids on a sugar high.

"That was scary" Todd didn't know if he should laugh at the face Mystique made or cringe at the face Lance made.

"That was beyond scary… Pietro, what's wrong with you?!" Lance was slowly coming out of his stupefied state. 

"What?! I thought you wanted her gone… this was the only way, I swear!" Pietro made a run for his chicken. Somehow a combo #2 just wasn't going to cut it.

"Hey Lance, are you going to eat that?" Pietro pointed at Lance's (until now) forgotten food.

"Hands off Pietro, that's mine!"Lance jumped to protect his food.

Todd went back to eating again. He had learned a long time ago not to be too distracted with anything that happened inside the Brotherhood's home, especially if food was involved. 

******************************************************* 

End chapter 10


	11. A Lovers Feud part 11

A Lovers Feud

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 11**

It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day; the birds were singing their early morning tune as the sun rose behind the mountains. A few rays of sunlight went through an open window and into the sleeping form of a young girl. She slowly opened her eyes to adjust to the light and greeted the morning in her usual way.

"Oh God no… no, no, no… it's not like, Monday again, is it?" Kitty Pryde tried very hard to get up, but Mondays were just not a good time for her.

However, the sounds she heard next were all she needed to wake up.

"Oh Pietro…. Pietro! You are _so_ good!" Rogue snickered a bit at the look Kitty was giving her.

"EWW! Like, Rogue! What's the big idea?! Like, stop doing that!" Kitty threw one of her pillows at her annoying roommate. Why couldn't the Professor give them different rooms?

"Oh, come on Kitty… I was only teasing sugar." Rogue winked at her younger roommate and headed out the door.

"I like, really hate Mondays!" and with that Kitty Pryde unceremoniously dumped herself back under her covers.

***********************************************************

"I really hate Mondays!" Pietro Maximoff was poking his lunch around. Nothing like gooey macaroni and cheese on a Monday afternoon to get you to study harder.

"Lance, when are we going to talk to Mystique about letting us choose the meals in this place?" Pietro was not eating this.

"As if she'd let us choose anything here Pietro." Lance was busy poking his food as well.

"Maybe if you hug her again yo!" Todd was eating it happily. If he could eat flies he could eat this.

"That is a 'for-emergencies-use-only' technique. As if I'd do that again!" Pietro had decided this substance couldn't be cheese at all. In fact, it wasn't even edible.

"You gonna eat that?" Fred was pointing at Pietro's plate as he finished eating his third.

"You want it? Take it… your funeral…" Pietro just shoved it to him.

"It's not that bad…" Freddy simply kept eating.

"Hey Lance, if we find Freddy here dead tomorrow morning it wasn't my fault." Pietro wasn't taking the blame for giving his friend the macaroni and cheese of doom.

"Hey yo! Don't joke about that!" Todd didn't like those subjects.

"We shall place it in his tombstone… 'Killed by overdose of macaroni and non-edible cheese.'" Joked Lance as he decided to try it since this was his last meal before he started work this afternoon. After that he was going to be trapped in a very confined space with an immense amount of sugar and a bunch of screaming kids. Welcome to his idea of Hell.

*****************************************************

Meanwhile the X-men were deep in thought as they discussed a very philosophical subject.

"This is _so_ not cheese!" Evan knew cheese, and this was not it.

"But it's so yellow and…. and gooey." Kurt was just playing with it; he figured he could teleport back to the Institute and have lunch there.

"That doesn't mean its cheese Kurt." Rogue wasn't eating this. God only knew what it could do to her.

"Like… if it's not cheese then like, what is it?" Kitty was taking small bites.

"Maybe they've re-heated the same cheese so many times that it doesn't look real." Jean was trying to come up with a logical explanation.

"What if this is some sort of poison that Mystique had sent for us?!" Scott couldn't believe he didn't think of this before!!

Everyone immediately stopped eating.

"SCOTT! Why did you say that?! Now we'll never eat in peace here." Jean kept looking at her now 'poisoned' macaroni and cheese.

"Hey, let's see if the Brotherhood is eating it. Mystique wouldn't do that to her own mutants, right?….. right?" Evan turned around and started looking for the Brotherhood table.

"I see them!" cried Kurt as he kept starring at them.

"Well? Are they eating it?" Rogue wanted… no, NEEDED to know.

"I believe Lance has stopped eating…. Todd is handing his plate over to Fred, that seems to be Fred's fifth!… and Pietro isn't eating anything." At least that's what Kurt thought he saw.

"So let me get this straight… out of all four of them, only Fred is eating?… That's bad." Evan kept staring at the Brotherhood table.

"Why is that bad Evan?" Rogue stood on the table now so she'd be able to see higher.

"Come on Rogue, think about it. The only one eating is the Blob!… he could eat anything, even poison!" Evan couldn't believe he had left New York for _this_? At least back there he could eat his lunch in peace.

"Like, no way!… this is not poisoned… it looks like it, but it's like totally not." Kitty however wasn't eating.

"And why do you say that?" Jean asked while she looked over at Scott who was busy starring at his food. "Scott, I don't believe it's poisoned… just eat it."

"Well, for one thing; Pietro would like, never let me eat this if it were poisoned." Kitty stated very proudly. 

"That proves it! It's poisoned!" Evan was now looking for the nearest trashcan. "Don't you see Kitty… all that 'nice guy' thing he had with you, it was all a trap so you'd let your guard down and he could poison our macaroni and cheese!"

Regardless of how they each felt towards the whole 'Pietro & Kitty' relationship, everyone at that table kept starring at Evan as if he were crazy.

"Spike, you're a nut case, you know that?" Rogue had enough of cynical Evan for one day.

"Ok, well…. Let's keep staring at them! If they start to throw their food away then it has got to be poisoned!"

"Like, that is so stupid Evan…." Kitty started eating little bites again as did Jean and Rogue. However, Kurt, Evan and Scott kept looking over at the Brotherhood.

********************************************************

"Lance?….. Lance?….. LANCE!" Pietro always lost patience fast.

"What do you want now Pietro?!" Lance was trying to pretend his food was actually a nice piece of fried chicken like the one he had that weekend… but Pietro was breaking his concentration.

"Those X-freaks are watching us…" Pietro felt all weird being watched by them.

"What?…. why?" Lance turned around and spotted Evan, Kurt and Scott looking.

"What do they want yo?" Todd didn't like the staring, he felt like some sort of experiment.

Evan kept staring at Pietro …. Pietro kept staring back at Evan. Then suddenly Pietro knew how to get rid of them. He started to make kissing noises toward Evan.

All three of the X-men turned back to their table.

"I knew that would work!" Pietro was very happy.

"You scare me sometimes…" Lance was just glad they weren't being watched anymore.

"Hey, I've just noticed something… why do people hate me when I'm trying to be affectionate? I hugged Mystique and she had to go, then I tried to send kisses over to Evan and he looked sick then he turned around…. Why won't anyone let me be affectionate with them?!" Pietro started to tug on Todd's arm playfully.

"Yo! Cut that out!… you scare people off…. I don't know why _we're_ still here with you…" Todd was trying to put some distance between himself and his weird friend.

"Aww… do you need a hug?" Pietro just wanted to see the look of horror Todd would put on.

"Get away from me yo!…. Lance, make him stop saying such things!" Todd was practically begging for help here.

"But Toddy…. I do think you need a hug…" Lance wasn't helping.

"LANCE!…. no, Pietro, get away from me!" This was not one of Todd's favorite moments.

************************************************

"Like, what's wrong? You guys look like you've seena ghost." Kitty found that after a while the macaroni and cheese didn't taste so bad… or maybe her tongue had gone numb.

"Did Pietro just….? Did he?….. Kurt, did you see that?" Evan was freaking out. 

"Yeah, I saw Evan… umm, maybe he was playing?" Kurt was also freaking out.

"Oh my God, Pietro is gay." Scott had now the perfect reason so that Kitty didn't go out with him!

Kitty chocked on her macaroni and cheese and Rogue was busy hitting her on the back.

"Scott, why would you say something like that?" Jean had no clue what had just happened.

"Pietro wanted to kiss Evan! That proves it! You see Kitty… you should get out of this messed up relationship while you still have the chance." Scott was not acting like his usual mature self…. He had tried everything, he had talked to Kitty, tried to reason with her, even begged her…. Nothing. Seemed like the only thing that worked now was making up stories. Scott had no problem with that.

"Pietro is not like, gay!" Kitty had finally swallowed her food.

"But he tried to kiss Evan!" Scott said again.

"From where? The other side of the cafeteria!…" Rogue had lost her patience with her own messed up team. "Scott, you know he was just playing with ya. Why you have to be staring at them like some lab experiment?"

"Come on guys, don't remind me… I feel so dirty!" Evan was laughing now.

Kurt soon followed on the laughter and before they knew it they were all laughing about it. Even Scott, although he wasn't done trying to convince Kitty just how wrong her new 'boyfriend' was for her.

***********************************************

Pietro was standing beside his locker as the crowd of students walked in a hurried pace back to their classrooms for their afternoon session of Hell. He kept rubbing the back of his head as he looked down on Todd. The young mutant was keeping himself busy looking for some imaginary object in his backpack, but after a while he couldn't handle it anymore and broke out almost screaming.

"Alright! Alright! I'm sorry!…. You were scaring me yo!" Todd held his half empty backpack in defense.

"TODD! You do NOT go around hitting people on the head because they're _hugging_ you! If they were beating you: yes; if they glue you to a chair and made you watch the Barney show or something like that… then yes, but because someone is hugging you?! No wonder you don't have a girlfriend." Pietro dismissed his younger friend with a gesture and opened up his locker to get his books. He was expecting Todd to explode in a furry of insults and excuses as to why he didn't have a girlfriend, but instead he was greeted by an unwelcome silence.

Pietro watched Todd from the corner of his eye. 

"Todd?" Pietro was worried. Had he gone too far this time? He didn't think he'd be hitting a nerve there. After a while Todd decided to answer the speed demon.

"I don't have a girlfriend simply because I'm waiting for someone that's actually worthwhile. Not like _you_ who jumps on the first _bimbo_ you see." Todd had been angry, upset and a little unbalanced in his head… definitely Pietro could understand that.

~~ I'm not going to hit him. I'm not going to hit him… He's little Todd, the baby. I'm going to ignore him, yeah… that's what I'm gonna do. He doesn't exist, he's not here and he didn't say what he just said and I'm NOT GOING TO HIT HIM! ~~

When Pietro figured he had enough restrain to look back at Todd he had one of his 'evil' smiles on. The type that says: 'I'm soooo gonna kick your ass later on'.

"Hey… Pietro… you're not going to pound me, are ya?" Todd was afraid of such an evil smile.

"No… I said one thing, you said another. Let's just leave it at that." The white haired boy took out his anger by throwing the rest of his books inside his locker. This made Todd jump a bit.

Suddenly though Pietro seemed to sense something. He became very still as if making sure what he heard was right. Then the scowl on his face melted away as he looked at the end of the hallway. Todd looked too… he shouldn't have been surprised.

"So like, from now on I'm like so going to bring my own lunch you know." Kitty's bouncy ponytail kept moving from side to side as she talked to Rogue.

"I still think Kurt should just teleport us back to the Institute, but Scott just wants us to suffer with stories of poisoned cheese." Rogue suddenly noticed Kitty started to walk a little faster until she spotted the reason… she shouldn't have been surprised.

Todd watched as Kitty made her way toward them and gave Pietro a kiss. Todd was already feeling sick.

"Like, hi Pietro…" Kitty managed to say after the kiss.

"Like, hiiiiiiii Pietrooooooo!" mocked Rogue as she imitated Kitty's bouncing.

"Rogue like, go talk to Todd or something!" Kitty pushed her friend away.

"Yeah… Todd, go talk to Rogue!" Pietro pushed his young friend toward the Goth girl.

"Hey!" Todd knew when he was not wanted… he didn't need to be pushed.

"Come on Tolensky… let's give this cute couple a few minutes of privacy." Rogue winked at the two of them as she made her way toward her own locker.

"Yeah right… privacy in the middle of a _crowded_ hallway!" Pietro shot back, but he was only answered by Rogue's tongue sticking out.

****************************************************

Pietro leaned against the lockers as he looked at Kitty for a while.

"Like, what?" Kitty smiled innocently at him.

"So… I hear evil Summers has you doing battles in the _'Danger Room'_." The young speed demon had such a look of bewilderedness when he stated the last part of the sentence that Kitty just had to laugh for a while.

"Ok… well, you see… we have to practice so like the Professor gave us this special room where we like, do that. Only like, Scott has taken it to be his own personal favorite place in the whole wide world and his way of making us suffer is like, by going there… you know?" Kitty thought she had explained it rather well.

"So, I guess Summers didn't take it so well…" Pietro didn't like Summers anymore… well, he never did much anyway.

"Well like, neither did Evan." 

"Daniels doesn't matter. He's not important." This earned Pietro 'the look'. "Ah! Ok, ok… I take it back."

"That's better… So, how about you? How did Lance take it?" she could imagine Lance screaming and kicking like a baby after he saw them on Friday.

"I'm not sure… he seems 'ok' or as ok as a demented dictator can get. He didn't buy me any sushi though, so I guess that's his way of getting back at me." Of course, Pietro neglected to mention he had made Lance race through the entire house in order to eat his combo #2 of fried chicken. 

"Wow that's like, really mature of him. I'm like so totally glad he's not giving you a hard time about it." Kitty had never thought of Lance as the 'understanding' older brother, he looked more like the 'I'm gonna hurt you if you touch my stuff' older brother.

At that moment Kitty saw the subject of their conversation walking straight toward them. She was glad Lance hadn't freaked out (like Scott) but she still found herself trying to hide behind Pietro.

"Hello there kiddies" Lance's voice was sweet and comforting… Pietro didn't like it.

"Yes?" the white haired boy wanted to know what Lance wanted so he could give it to him and go on his way.

"Hi." Kitty was still not very sociable with Alvers.

"How are you two doing?" Lance was smiling… He. Was. Smiling.

"We're fine, hey Lance boy… your locker isn't anywhere near here. Why don't you go find it." Pietro wanted his much-deserved 'Kitty time'!!

"It is too!" answered the older boy.

"No, it's not." 

"Is too."

"No… it's not." Pietro was loosing patience.

"Well, I…. I just wanted to know how Kitty was doing." Lance turned toward the young freshman now. "How are things Kitty? You know, we don't get to talk much, I'm a bit sad about that."

~~ What does he think he's doing!?!?! ~~ Pietro wanted to be alone with his Kitty! Why wasn't that happening?!… Die Lance! DIE!

"Umm… everything's fine thanks…" Kitty looked at Pietro for some support but she noticed her boyfriend was slightly busy starring at the dark haired senior. 

~~ Probably sending mental death threats….~~ Kitty thought as she gave Pietro a concerned look.

~~ DIE LANCE! DIE!…. ok, enough death threats… now, how to get rid of him?…~~ Pietro's mind was racing. What could possibly happen that would distract Lance long enough for the two of them to get away?

"Hello there!" joined in a forth voice.

Pietro and Kitty turned around and saw a very happy and cheerful Scott Summers. Lance simply stared at him.

"How are you doing?" Scott asked looking directly at Pietro. The speed demon was sure Summers eyes held something evil!… he just couldn't see them.

"Like, Scott… what are you doing here?" Kitty was beginning to get nervous.

"Umm…. I… I was looking for my locker. Yeah!" Scott was still smiling.

"Like, your locker isn't around here."

"Is too!" 

Kitty didn't answer. She decided to ignore the two seniors and taking Pietro's hand started to walk away from the intruders.

"Hey wait!" cried Scott as he reached for Kitty. "I… where are you going?"

"Away." Answered both Kitty and Pietro.

"But you can't!… Because…" that was Lance.

"I need to talk to Pietro!" and that brilliant idea was from Scott.

"What about?" Pietro was angry… but he wasn't going on a tantrum right there in the middle of the school.

Scott walked closer to Pietro and placed a friendly hand on the young sophomore's shoulder. 

"How are you doing Pietro? You know, we don't talk much and I think that's just a shame."

~~ Why am I being punished this way? ~~ Pietro knew Lance was holding his breath so he wouldn't burst into laughter. 

Pietro didn't have to answer though because just then the bell rang and the small mob of high school children started to run for their classrooms. Scott took that moment to grab Kitty by her shoulders and head to the opposite direction.

"Oh! Got to go… so sorry about that. Maybe we'll talk later. Bye!" Scott and Kitty were gone.

"What the…?" Pietro didn't even get a goodbye kiss! … DAMN IT!

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Lance was leaning against the lockers now for support since he didn't think his feet were going to help much.

Not too far away the sound of more laughter was heard as both Todd and Rogue made their way toward the very agitated Maximoff.

"Fine! Laugh your pretty little heads off! I don't care!… I'm outta here." He waved his friends off as he walked, pouting that he didn't get a kiss, toward his afternoon classes.

"That was…*giggles*the most twisted plan I've ever seen you and Scott pull!" Rogue had been watching as the two seniors made it impossible for the couple to talk.

"Man! I hadn't even planned it!… it all sort of … happened." Lance would never admit he had been relieved when he saw Scott coming over… he needed the help.

"Hope this isn't going to be an every day occurrence yo!" Upsetting Pietro was sometimes fun for Todd, but if it happened too often the young speed demon would most likely eat a ton of sugar right before bed and make everyone at the Brotherhood house very unhappy.

After a few more giggles and sporadic laughter everyone had calmed down and Todd realized they were the only ones left standing in the hallway. He was about to say something when he caught a strange look on Lance's face. He then looked at Rogue and noticed she was smiling… at Lance!

Lance wasn't moving… in fact he wasn't even breathing. He was afraid to do anything that would somehow destroy this little moment. He had so few of them in his life then whenever one of them appeared he simply stopped living for just that instant.

~~ She should smile more often… I should tell her that. But not that way though or then she'll hit me, I'm sure. But maybe if I told her she looked _nice_ that way… She'll probably still hit me with something. ~~ But Lance's happy moment was soon over when he heard Todd's next words.

"We're late for class yo!" and with that the young freshman took his half empty backpack and left the other two mutants without looking back.

****************************************************

The rest of the school day went by the same way as always, that didn't surprise Pietro at all. It was the after-school activities however that he had grown to love these past few weeks. Especially since he could be with Kitty without bumping into either Lance or Scott.

What Pietro did not know at that moment was that he was being followed. 

Two shadowy figures were watching him from the other end of the hallway as Pietro made his way to rehearsals. 

Suddenly the big shadowy figure stepped on the smaller shadowy figure.

"Ouch! Freddy!… that hurt!" Todd cried as he jumped away from his friend.

"Sorry… I just don't know why we have to be following Pietro like this… I wanted to go home." Fred knew he could've been sitting down on the couch right now if they had let Lance drive them home. Now they had to walk back since Lance was working at the mall.

"I just have to know where Pietro meets up with that Pryde girl." Todd was making his way quickly to where Pietro had been; he didn't want to loose him. 

After that incident in the hallway with the white haired boy Todd had been a little more curious then ever about what those two did when they were together. And even though he knew the occasional kissing would show up, he was more interested in what they actually talked about. He had to know just what was so special about that girl that made Pietro want to kill anyone who dared say anything less then pleasant about her. He knew it was luck that made Pietro not punch his lights out earlier that afternoon. Todd figured he'd have to apologize to the older boy later.

"You know, if you hadn't been this curious in the first place everything would've been fine." Fred pointed out as he followed his friend.

"Well, thank you Mr. Insightful… now, just follow me before we lose … what are _YOU_ doing here?!" Todd didn't want to see _him_, first of all his blue fur was very disturbing for Todd, even if he couldn't see it because of the hologram. Still it looked like the two of them were always bumping into each other.

"Hi" Kurt was a bit shy around the Brotherhood members. When he had to fight them, that was different but when they were just talking as normal kids then he got nervous. The fact that Todd didn't look so happy to see him wasn't helping.

"Yes?" Todd had to run now to keep up with Pietro.

"I was just wondering if… well, I was curious about those two and…. well,… may I spy on them with you?" Kurt would've gone with Scott and the others but they were just too many and Kitty would've figured it out.

Todd let out a sigh… 

~~ Why me?… why? ~~ Todd supposed it wouldn't be all that bad to have someone who could teleport…

"Fine, just be quiet!… come on Freddy."

And so the three mutants made their way after the young speed demon.

****************************************************

"So, you're sure this is where Kitty's rehearsals take place?" Scott needed to confirm this… for like the tenth time.

"Scott… for the last time, yes. I walked Kitty here once, I know where it is." Rogue didn't really want to be spying on her friend, but she didn't really want to have to deal with a paranoid Scott and a cynical Evan. So she agreed to take them and Jean followed to provided a logical point of view.

"Hey Scott, if we find Pietro can we kill him?" Evan was only teasing of course… although the thought of locking the white-haired boy inside his locker again was a good idea.

"Sure Evan, whatever you want." Scott wasn't really paying attention.

"Scott!… don't encourage Evan like that!" Jean, although not a fan of the Brotherhood, wasn't going to allow unnecessary violence.

"Oh right… no, Evan… you can't kill him….. maybe later." Scott didn't really care at that particular moment.

"Scott… why most we be spying on Kitty's rehearsal?" Jean wanted to go home… now.

"Because Jean, those two most meet after school and I want to be there when they do!" Scott had his own very evil little plan. He would be continuously bumping into Kitty when she was with Pietro, therefore those two wouldn't have a quiet time alone and would eventually get tired of it all and dump each other.

At least that was the plan Scott and Evan had figured out by themselves, Jean however, didn't get it.

"And… what are you going to do if you find them together? You know Pietro could simply run away with Kitty and you'd never know where to look." Jean, the great source of reason.

"That's why I've got you Jean, you'll do a mental search for them and Kurt will teleport us … where's Kurt?" the usually very composed leader of the X-men was currently on a state of mind that could only be classified as 'a mess', this due to the fact that he had never, EVER thought little Kitty Pryde would fall in love with the annoying Pietro Maximoff. These sorts of things just couldn't happen but because they were Scott wasn't acting as his usual 100%.

Rogue sighed and looked at Scott as if he were demented.

"Scott! Kurt left us a while back. Said we were just too many to be spying on one person." Rogue wasn't so sure now if guiding them toward Kitty's rehearsals was such a good idea. She wasn't against Pietro dating Kitty… he seemed to really like her. Nevertheless, regardless of how she felt about it now… they had arrived.

*************************************************

Pietro was starting to get bored. Really bored. If rehearsals weren't the only place he could be with Kitty without having to see Scott or Lance's face everywhere he wouldn't attend. 

Pietro guessed it was both a good and a bad thing that the rest of their friends had found out about them. Good cause he wouldn't have to hide and he could talk about her to his friends… even if Todd gave him funny looks and Freddy pretended he was puking.

It was a bad thing because the rest of the X-men were now making his life a living hell, well… they had always been annoying him, but now it was just plain sick! He couldn't smile at Kitty in the hallway, like he used to but without anyone noticing. Now it looked like Evan and Scott were out for his blood. Evan he could understand… but Scott? 

~~ Seems Mr. Collected leader isn't quite right up in the head. ~~ Pietro briefly wondered what the leader of the X-men would do if he knew anyone was out flirting with Jean Grey.

~~ I imagine someone's head rolling down the street, courtesy of an optic eye blast. ~~

Pietro's musings would've continued if Claudia, the almighty play-god, hadn't interrupted for another 'very important' announcement.

~~ Probably going to threaten us with impending doom if we don't practice our lines…~~ 

"Alright people, you've all done great!" Claudia was in a very happy mood. "You've all worked really hard and now it's time to show off our talented cast!"

Pietro was busy balancing a very heavy science book on top of his head. Why couldn't Claudia shut up and tell them to go home early?

"The Drama competitions are going to start this Friday, and since we're going to be representing Bayville High School, Principal Darkholme will be announcing the cast members!"

~~ What the….? ~~ Pietro forgot all about the heavy science book as he tried to comprehend what Claudia had just said. Unfortunately gravity kicked in and the book landed on top of his foot.

"OUCH!…. stupid thing!" he kicked the book across the room.

"Pietro! That's like, _my _science book!" Kitty screamed at him from where she was sitting talking to a group of girls.

"Oh right,… sorry…." Lately Pietro had taken to be carrying some of Kitty's things. Today he had her science book,… which was now on the other end of the room. Pietro slowly made his way to retrieve the huge bolder of pages that had made his foot slightly numb.

Claudia was already used to Pietro's quick _'outbursts of stupidity'_ as she called them.

"Anyway… this Friday you don't have to come here after school. Go home and rest, just make sure to be here no later then 6pm for your wardrobe. Our first show with a live audience will begin at 8pm."

"So, after Darkholme says a few 'good intentioned' words, she's going to leave, right?" If Mystique stayed she would see them, if she saw them she would be mad, if she was mad then he would be dead. That kind of chain-reaction was not very appealing to Pietro.

"She can't go… as a Principal she's part of the judges." Claudia noticed how nervous Pietro was getting. She didn't figure him the type to have stage fright… 

"Aw!… are you scared little Pietro?…." Claudia was pinching his cheek. "Well… DON'T BE!! You're my male lead! You can't get scared!" 

"Gee, thanks for your inspiring words…and I'm not afraid! It's just that… well, Darkholme might not be the right person to be announcing. It should be _you_ Claudia!" Pietro smiled sweetly at his favorite play-god. 

"It _should_ be me, shouldn't it…. But it won't happen. Just make sure to be here on time Maximoff!" Claudia simply walked away while still making lists and preparations.

Pietro was not happy with this. Mystique couldn't see them! Sure, he could always give the excuse that it was all acting but… he just didn't want her to see the play. He needed help, and although his friends were usually the best qualified he was almost completely sure Lance wouldn't help him. So that left un-mischievous, no-trouble maker Kitty as his partner in crime.

~~ Well… it's about time she learned anyway. ~~ Pietro made his way toward the small gathering of girls that were talking to Kitty. It seemed she had made a lot of new friends lately. Of course, most of these girls couldn't talk to Kitty outside of rehearsals since Mallory would kill them… 

~~ Gee, what ever happened to that girl?… ~~ Pietro had nearly forgot about the original female lead… he hadn't heard from her in a while. But that wasn't important now… right now he had a crisis!

*********************************************

"And so like, that sweater is so like not your color Heather… you should like, try a light blue tone… Oh, hi Pietro." Kitty had just noticed her boyfriend was standing in front of the small group of girls.

She used the term 'boyfriend' loosely… sure, Kurt and Scott had caught them kissing and immediately labeled them as a couple, and Rogue had told her Pietro had feelings for her but that wasn't good enough since it hadn't been Pietro himself to say such things. She knew she had to talk to him about that… but with Scott and Lance popping up from nowhere it was rather hard to find some time alone.

"I know I'm probably interrupting some sort of very serious girly talk about clothes, nail polish and boys… but I really need to borrow Kitty from you ladies for a while, okay?" Pietro smiled sweetly at the group of girls who were giving him knowing smiles. 

"Off to '_practice your lines'_ again Pietro?" one of the girls was teasing them. Everyone in the room knew those two were together; of course 'said couple' hadn't been hiding it very well.

"Right…. That's it. So I'll give her back to you later. See ya." Pietro took Kitty by the hand and leaded her toward a more private corner of the room.

"Ok, like Pietro, what's wrong?" Kitty knew he must be upset about something since he was practically racing to get away from everyone else. Usually he would tone down his speed since he knew she couldn't catch up.

"Well, didn't you listen to Claudia just now? We do our first performance this Friday!" when Pietro is upset about something he finds himself with a lot of energy so as a way to release it he decides to start pacing around in a circle around Kitty. This was starting to make her sick though.

"Pietro… could you like… stop moving." She was feeling a little dizzy now.

"Oh… ok." He sat down on the floor but immediately felt the urge to jump up and do something. Why couldn't he stand still for one minute?

"So like, I still don't see the problem… Are you nervous? Like, that is so not like you." Kitty looked at the restless expression on Pietro's face and simply borrowed a nearby book and placed it gently on top of the boys' head. Pietro immediately became occupied with balancing the heavy thing, it seemed it had now become his new favorite pass-time. 

"I'm not nervous! I can do this play in my sleep!… it's just that this Friday _Darkholme_ will be _watching us_ doing the play… Hello! Ring a bell?" 

"Oh my God!…. like, oh my God! We're so going to die!" Pietro just had to roll his eyes at that one.

"Wow… good thing I wasn't emotionally counting on your optimism." He gave Kitty a _'look'_ as he continued to balance the book.

~~ I have a very weird girlfriend… ~~

Girlfriend…. That word still sounded alien to him. He was so used to simply flirting and fooling around with girls that the idea that he was now with just one was a little strange. 

Pietro had been asking himself exactly since when he had become Kitty's boyfriend… had it been when they first kissed and they both realized they liked it? Or when their friends had decided to play spy and caught them making out on the hallway? 

He hadn't asked how Kitty felt about all of this… he supposed she agreed, after all she hadn't complained yet. He should be thankful he hasn't had to go through all the hassle of _'the question'_ with Kitty… but still, did that mean that if he hasn't officially asked then Kitty could go out with some other guy if she wanted to?

~~ As if she'd want to… ~~ Pietro's ego could not imagine that happening, but the possibility was out there…

"Gee, like sorry… but what are we like going to do about Darkholme? She can't see us doing this play, she could like turn ballistic or something." Kitty was starting to chew on the tips of her ponytail. 

"Well, we're going to have to make sure she has other plans this Friday, now wont we…" Pietro had no idea how to stop Mystique from coming to the play… but not having a plan had never stopped him from doing things before.

*********************************************************

The sudden change from the warm and sunny hallway to the cold and slightly darker air-conditioner room came as a shock to the youngest member of the Brotherhood. Todd was simply not used to teleporting.

"Do you see them yo?" he would've looked up himself but he didn't wish to expose his neck to the cold air.

"Yes, they're still talking… Are you still cold? We've been here for a while, I thought you'd be ok by now." Kurt sat next to the shivering Todd as he kept an eye out for Kitty.

"Easy for you to say, you've got fur yo!" Todd just didn't know it was going to be this cold in the room; otherwise he would've stayed outside with Freddy.

"Fine, whatever… but did you hear what the director said? The play is this Friday and Pietro didn't seem to like that one bit." Kurt stole a glace at Claudia 'the play-god', she was one busy girl… Kurt wondered if she had even more energy then Quicksilver.

"What he didn't like was Mystique showing up. She's going to cut Pietro's head off and later do the same to Lance." Todd could already see the hideous transformation Mystique would put on for them.

"Why would she be mad at Lance?" Kurt tilted his head sideways as he asked.

"I don't know yo… she always picks on Lance whenever Pietro does something… it's almost like if she wasn't allowed to be angry at Pietro directly. It's weird… she has no problem screaming at the rest of us though."

The rest of the Brotherhood had noticed that little detail about Mystique's general screaming… it was never directed at Pietro. The latest example was the infamous 'grocery bill'. After Lance and Pietro were called to Mystique's office Todd secretly followed and landed himself a nice front row seat outside the window.

"You boys spent $398 with 58 cents! Why didn't you just take the entire building while you were at it?!" Mystique had been furious.

"We tried but it wouldn't fit in the car…" leave it to Pietro to say the wrong thing at the wrong person. Lance kept quiet, but he elbowed the young white-haired boy on the ribs.

"And look at the items you bought… 5 different cereals! Why 5?!" 

"Well, they were out of Froot-Loops… otherwise it would've been six." Pietro winced as he felt the poking on his ribs again. 

"You're not helping" whispered Lance while trying not to draw attention to himself.

"Eight boxes of Twinkies?"

"Four were for Freddy!" added a helpful Pietro.

"More toilet paper then I can count…"

"I'm not explaining that one." Indeed, Mystique needed to learn what is was like to live with four young teenage boys. 

"Ten different types of magazines?"

"We were bored while we were waiting in line… and once we were paying no one remembered to put the magazines away." It was an honest mistake of course.

"All of those items I can understand… but there's a very expensive box of chocolates on this bill and I don't know how it got there." Mystique wanted answers for that one very insulting food item.

"Umm…. **Todd bought that**!" Pietro screamed with more force then necessary.

~~ I am so going to tell Freddy to kick your ass yo! ~~ How dare Pietro blame the chocolates on him, he had been against Pietro buying them in the first place.

"Why would he buy that?" Mystique didn't believe the young speed demon.

"Maybe little Toddy has a girlfriend…" Pietro smiled sweetly.

"Ah… never mind, I am _not_ interested in Mr. Tolensky's love life." 

~~ Or lack of it… ~~ Todd had thought back then. It was rather funny he hadn't picked up on Pietro's girlfriend comment; it would've made things so much easier.

Mystique had then turned her vengeful eyes toward poor Lance. He had been sitting quietly praying the conversation would remain 'Mystique vs. Pietro', no such luck though.

"So Mr. Alvers… do you believe spending $398 is a wise consumer choice?" 

"No Ma'am." The best course of action was always to answer in as fewer words as possible.

"And with 58 cents to boot!" Lance stared down at Pietro as this ungodly feeling to smack the young boy was over powering him. Pietro sensed this and decided he should remain quiet for now.

"I hope you realized Mr. Alvers, that this is all your fault."

"But why…?"

"I will not tolerate this kind of behavior from my charges!"

"I didn't…"

"You better start to learn the value of money Mr. Alvers or you will see yourself without any!"

Lance just stared at her in some sort of stupefied state. Todd figured it was a miracle the whole school wasn't shaking due to the older boy's anger. 

After that both Lance and Pietro left Mystique's office and Todd decided to go back and find Freddy. Nothing unusual that day… evil boss lady picking on Lance again… oh well. 

Now back to reality Todd realized exactly what would happen if Mystique ever knew about Pietro and Kitty.

"We have to find Lance yo! It's his neck that is hanging here." Said Todd as he grabbed Kurt by the arm.

********************************************************

End chapter 11


	12. A Lovers Feud part 12

A Lovers Feud Alejandra Muniz Normal Alejandra Muniz 1 46 2001-10-21T10:03:00Z 2001-10-21T10:49:00Z 14 5648 32196 268 64 39538 9.2720 

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 12**

"We have to find Lance yo! It's his neck that is hanging here." Todd grabbed Kurt by the arm so they would teleport back to Freddy, but someone else had other ideas.

"What are you boys doing here?" came the sweet southern accent.

"AAH!… God, Rogue, don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack." Kurt immediately remembered they were supposed to be hiding and lowered his voice.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he asked her back.

"Scott made me come… he's all freaked out about Pietro and Kitty, it's all a little too much for him I suppose… umm, hey Todd." Rogue hadn't expected to see her former teammate here.

            Todd mumbled something under his breath as an answer.

"What?" neither Rogue nor Kurt seemed to understand though.

"I said 'hi' yo!" Todd felt a little out of place right now. He was surrounded by two X-men and he had nowhere to hide… not that he needed to hide, it's just that was his nature. The enemy became too much, run and hide… it worked against bullies.

It was different now though… he felt overwhelmed by the X-men but he didn't wish to leave just yet. He wanted to hang around Rogue… the way he used to (although not to her enjoyment) back when she belonged to the Brotherhood. 

            Just then he remembered the conversation he had with Kurt the day they found out about the (now infamous) 'Pietro-Kitty couple'. Why on Earth were they talking about couples again? … Still, Kurt had mentioned Scott and Jean to be 'made for each other', he supposed that was right. Then he mentioned the Lance-Rogue pairing… yep, also perfect. Too perfect. Disgustingly perfect… 

~~ As if she would ever look at you twice Todd … heck, you're lucky if she looks at you once. ~~ Todd refused to believe that guys like him never got the girl… but reality sometimes hit a little too hard.

"Todd?… Todd!" came a semi-concerned southern accent.

"What?" how long had he been tuning out the world?

"You looked upset about something… you alright?" Rogue supposed it was all right to be nice to a Brotherhood member since they weren't exactly fighting right now… besides; she used to hang around with the guy.

"Yeah, yeah… I… I gotta go yo… have to find Lance and talk to him." Todd wished he could stay… but he knew what happened whenever he stayed somewhere for too long… 'Eww, it's the Toad. You're hanging out with the Toad?' it never failed.

"Good idea… I'll teleport you. Umm, where is he?" Kurt noticed Todd's different mood, it seemed he now had another situation to look into. Unfortunately for him, this one would have to wait.

"Um?… oh, right… Lance works at the mall. But I don't know which store."

"Right, so let's pick up Fred now and go… are you sure you're alright?" Kurt gently placed a hand on the young mutant's shoulder but Todd quickly brushed it away.

"Of course I'm alright yo! Let's go… umm, later Rogue." He said as they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Later…" Rogue sighed as she headed back to her team.

*********************************************************

"Do you see anything?" Evan was dimly aware that he was becoming as impatient as Pietro.

"Evan, if you ask one more time I'm going to send you flying back to the Institute." Jean's usual patience was running low these past few days with both Scott and Evan running around like maniacs. Usually she could talk some reason into Scott, but it wasn't working this time.

"Scott… I sense both Kitty's and Pietro's presence in that room so can't we just leave them alone? They're not doing anything wrong." Jean wanted to go home so bad.

"Jean, come on… you know we can't have those two together like this. It's all probably a trap made by Mystique, I'm sure of it." Scott was making a few wrong connections right now. 

His reasoning for being against the whole 'Pietro-Kitty' pairing was this: he couldn't stand Quicksilver for too long. But lucky for him the young speed demon's attention was always caught by either Evan or (as the case is now) Kitty. However, following Quicksilver, there came another Brotherhood member he could not stand… unfortunately for Scott this one had his eye set on him. Lance Alvers.

The way Scott was thinking right now made him believe that if Kitty and Pietro stayed together they would see more of the white-haired boy and as a result, more of Lance. Scott couldn't deal with Lance in huge amounts.

"You guys still here?" Rogue made her way toward her teammates who were still standing in the hallway.

"Well, the door is locked Rogue, what would you have us do? Have Scott smash it with his optic laser?" Evan was leaning against some lockers as he waited for the signal from Scott to go and destroy Pietro… (Evan just wanted some action right now).

"Well no genius… but the other door is open you know…" Rogue could see by their faces that they did not know.

"And now you tell us!" Scott was making his way to the door when Rogue stopped him.

"Scott wait… there's nothing to do there right now. Pietro and Kitty are part of the cast for the school's play and the show begins this Friday. I met with Kurt and Todd and they were going to meet up with Lance. That's all the excitement you missed. We should all go home now Scott… there's nothing to do here." Rogue looked at Jean for support, but the redhead was way ahead of her. 

            Jean took Scott by his other arm and leaded him back to the parking lot so they could go home.

"Rogue's right Scott… let's just go home." She felt like she was talking to some old senile person.

"But we can't just leave like this!" Evan still wanted action, but that remark only earned him evil looks from the girls.

"No… I most speak with Lance. Where is he?" Scott had come to the conclusion that he couldn't do this alone. A joining with the enemy was essential for their common good.

"Scott… let it go, alright… I'm tired and both Rogue and I want to go home." Jean was going crazy too, but she wasn't going to say that.

"I'm not going to do anything, I promise… just tell me where he is." Scott smiled looking like a perfect angel.

"Well… Todd said he worked at the mall but he wasn't sure where." Rogue was getting tired of all of this.

"Alright, so we're making a quick stop at the mall before we go home… it'll be quick I promise. Let's go."

            Evan followed although not as enthusiastic since there wasn't going to be any Pietro killing, Jean tried her best not to scream while Rogue started to pull on her hair in frustration.

*********************************************** 

"Thank you Ma'am and have a nice day." Lance smiled the way he was supposed to at the customer, but inside he wished he could break the entire place down.

~~ Stupid hyperactive kids! They have more energy then Pietro… and that's even _before_ I give them their candy. ~~ he tried to imagine how Pietro was as a child… definitely any babysitters' worst nightmare. 

            He still had a couple of hours left on his shift so it was a good thing he had mastered the Art of Patience. Being the oldest in the Brotherhood had allowed him to learn just how many times he could count to ten and not try to kill someone.

            For example, once Todd had decided to make a massive collection of every battery in the entire household. (don't ask him why.) Needless to say Todd's new hobby became a problem when Lance wanted to listen to his radio. He remembered he had to count till 50 before going into Todd's room and demanding his batteries back.

"But I need them!" Todd had answered with the pleading childish voice he only used with the other members of the Brotherhood… he wouldn't be caught dead sounding like that around school.

"So do I!" Lance answered back. 

"Go borrow Pietro's radio, he's not using it."

"Why don't you go borrow Pietro's batteries?"

"Are you kidding, yo?! He'd kill me." Pietro had very effectively marked his territory. Anyone who touched anything that belonged to the white haired boy ended up being nagged to death… not a pretty sight if you know what Pietro Maximoff can do.

"Oh, but _I_ wouldn't kill you?" Lance didn't nag like Pietro… Lance punched! And hard!

"Of course not."

"And why not?"

"Cause… you're Big Brother Lance." Todd had a big winning smile. 

            'Big Brother Lance'… little did he know that was going to be his role for a very long time. 

"I'm going out to take a walk… and when I come back I want my radio in working condition or else you're going to wish you _had_ taken Pietro's batteries." And with that Lance left Todd's room while throwing the door hard… so in fact it had taken him to count up to 50 plus a nice long walk before he cooled down.

            But his record was improving thanks to Pietro and his never-ending wake of terror around the house. One time Pietro had decided to dye Freddy's Mohawk in rainbow colors while he slept, Lance needed all his strength not to laugh at 'Freddy the Clown' as Todd so eloquently pointed out.  

            The task of finding a way to calm Freddy down was left to 'Big Brother Lance' while Pietro kept running around the living room humming stupid circus songs and telling stupid jokes. Todd was having fun though.

            Oh yes… Lance Alvers knew patience… thank God for that since he would need all of it today.

***************************************************

Finally, after what seemed like forever, rehearsals were over and Pietro was now heading toward his home. He wouldn't have minded staying with Kitty for a while longer but he knew it was late and she had to get going because, unlike his easy-going get-home-before-seven rule (made by Lance), she had to report to a big guy who had pointy knifes coming out of his knuckles. 

            He was now in front of his house but when he went to turn the handle he noticed the door was still locked.

~~ What the…? ~~ he tried the door again but no luck. ~~ The guys don't lock the door once they're home. ~~

            After some time searching through his backpack for his house keys he opened the door and went inside.

"Hello!" No one answered. "Hey Todd! Freddy!… HONEY I'M HOME!" finally he realized he was completely alone in the house.

~~ Where the heck is everyone? ~~ he knew Lance was not going to be home for a while, but he expected to see Freddy watching TV or Todd listening to music up in his room. Instead he was greeted by no one and he found himself incredibly lonely… and bored.

~~  There's got to be something to do here… ~~ he looked around and came to the conclusion that he didn't want to watch TV, he didn't want to eat anything and he didn't want to listen to music.

~~ What else is there for a young teenage boy to do!? ~~ then suddenly, he spotted the phone!

*************************************************

"Like hello!" Kitty phased through the door of the Institute and immediately dropped her backpack like the ton of bricks that it actually was.

"Hello Kitty, how was school today?" Storm came to greet the young girl.

"Like awful, I'm like full of homework and stuff. It's like the teachers don't want us to breath or something…. So like, where is everyone?" By now Kurt would've usually come to tell her the latest joke or Scott would be telling her to do her homework early so she could practice in the Danger Room, but today… nothing.

"Jean communicated telepathically with the Professor and said they'd be back later." Storm didn't mention what they were doing exactly.

"Oh like ok, guess I'm on my own for now." Just as Kitty was heading toward her room to start on the never ending amount of homework the phone rang and Storm left to answer it.

~~ Ok, so they're all out. Like, no big deal that they didn't tell me… They better not be doing anything fun like on the mall or something! ~~ 

            She knew she had to start doing her homework but she had no mind left for it. She kept thinking about Pietro and how cute he was. He was very sweet and nice to her but she needed some more time alone with him. Lately, with everyone else knowing what was going on, they had no chance of talking the way they usually did. She was starting to miss that.

"Kitty… are you alright?" Storm had come back into the room. When had that happened?

"Oh? … Oh! Yeah, yeah, like totally. I'm fine." She smiled sweetly at the older woman.

"You have a phone call." Said the white-haired woman as she walked up to Kitty with the cordless phone.

"Like, who is it?" Kitty wasn't expecting anyone to be calling her.

"Well… he said he was a classmate and needed some notes. My guess is it's Pietro." Kitty immediately took the phone and giving Storm a little smile phased through the wall and ran up to her room. 

            Storm was slightly amused that Pietro thought he could fool her. She had practically seen the boy grow, after all she visited her sister often and always kept an eye on Evan and his friends. She thought it was too bad the young sophomore was not a part of that group anymore.  

***********************************************

"Pietro?" Kitty jumped down on her bed bouncing a bit as she talked on the phone.

"Hello there beautiful!… Hey, how you know it was me?" 

"You like, really thought you could fool Storm?" she smiled a bit.

"Damn! I forgot she's Evan's aunt….  Anyway, what ya doing?" 

"Nothing, how about you?" she was now happily twirling her hair.

"I miss you, how about you come over for a while?" Pietro was starting to get too jumpy.

"You're bored, aren't you? What about Todd and Fred?"  

"They're not home, and I'm not bored I just missed you." Pietro only wished she could see the sad face he was making, then she'd agree for sure.

"Well… like, I don't know." 

"Tell ya what, meet me at the gates of the Institute and we'll walk around for a while."

"Fine… but not for too long, ok?" Kitty was excitingly twisting the end of her hair around her fingertips.

"Ok, for as long as you wish." Pietro was excitingly jumping on the couch.

*****************************************************

"Jean are you sure you can't pinpoint his exact location?" Scott needed to find the leader of the Brotherhood and have a serious talk with him. Unfortunately, aside from Evan, the other members of his team weren't being too helpful. 

"Scott, I'm tired ok… he's in that general direction. Take it up from there." At least thanks to Jean they wouldn't have to search the entire mall.

"Alright, Rouge, you and Evan check on the second floor while Jean and I look on the first."

"I ain't helping you on this crazy man-hunt Scott… I'm going window-shopping, meet you guys back at the car." And with that Rogue was walked away from her group of demented friends.

            At least if she wasn't going home she was having a little fun. What exactly did Scott wish to talk about with Lance anyway? She thought those two couldn't stand each other. In her opinion Scott just needed to accept the fact that Kitty and Pietro liked each other, after all Lance had. To her surprise the other senior seemed to be way more understanding and mature about the whole situation. 

            Rogue walked a bit more enjoying the peace and quiet for a change until she became painfully aware of a very disturbing fact… she was bored.

The mall wasn't her scene, these sort of places were left for people like Kitty who _'like, totally dug it! You know?'._

            She walked around for a while looking into store after store that were filled with cutesy girly type of clothes that she just didn't buy. She was going to be so mad at Scott next time she saw him… well, she was going to try to be mad at him!…. maybe…

            Rogue sat down next to a very over populated toy store and listened in on all the children who were just begging for this toy or that toy because if they didn't have it they'd die! 

~~ Children!… why waste money on toys when the real good stuff is… ~~

"CANDY!" Rogue looked up to see this adorable little boy pulling his mother over to the little candy store. She figured she might as well follow them since she was in the mood for some sugar.

            The little boy looked at all the different types of candy that were on display… so young and so many decisions. Finally the boy pointed at some gummy bears.

"I want a full bag of those!" demanded the little boy

"Now sweetie, those will give you cavities…" the mother tried her best… it wasn't enough.

"Ma'am, everything in here will give you cavities." Answered back the young man who was working right now… wait a minute, Rogue knew that voice.

"What did you say young man?" 

"I said, everything in here will give you the _capacity_ to appreciate good candy ma'am. This is the best spot for sweets in the entire mall." He couldn't believe he'd said that out loud.

~~ Oh my God!… is that…. Lance! ~~ Rogue couldn't believe she had found him. 

~~ And what a dainty apron he has too. ~~ Boy was he in for a teasing.

            After the enormous bag of gummy bears had been filled and sold Lance took in a deep breath before encountering his next customer.

"Hello, what can I get you? …. oh shit."

"Nice to see you too sunshine." She was having fun already.

"Tell me you want some candy so I may give it to you and go." How could this be happening to him?

"I don't believe it… Lance, you look adorable in that apron." Rogue couldn't get over that.

"Go away."

"No way."

"I'll pay you."

"It would never be enough."

~~ Out of all the people on Earth to find me working here, why did it have to be you Rogue?! ~~ Lance knew he was never going to live it down… but at least she could keep the secret.

"Ok… fine. I work at 'Little Washu's Candy Factory', let's see how many jokes you can come up with now." Lance was ready for anything, anything at all she said he could take it! Problem was… she wasn't saying anything… she just started laughing.

Lance just stared at her for a while. Boy was he feeling stupid, not to mention a little embarrassed since everyone walking by was giving them odd looks.

"You know, some people actually do say the joke out loud before they start laughing…"

"I'm sorry… it's… it's that apron!" Rogue was clutching her sides in laughter.

"Ok…. It's not my favorite part of my uniform I guess."

"You just look so cute."

"I get it…. I'm a walking joke." Lance would just have to get used to that fact.

"Basically." Why didn't Rogue ever have her camera when she needed it?

"Just please… please, don't go around telling people. I'm not working here for the fun of it, I just needed the extra money." 

"But how much money could this little store make?" Rogue was trying to control her laughing down to giggles.

"Oh believe me… you have no idea how much money a parent would pay to control those little monsters for a while." And little monsters indeed they were.

"Alright… I believe you." Rogue knew she shouldn't be laughing at poor Lance, but it was just impossible not to when you pictured big 'tough guy' Lance Alvers wearing… that cute little apron.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Rogue was clutching her sides again.

"That's it, I've died and gone to hell." Why couldn't his shift be over?

**********************************************************

            Kitty couldn't believe she was now sitting on the Brotherhood's living room. Well, the new, arranged Brotherhood living room since both Pietro and herself had kept busy moving furniture around. She thought the new positions were more comfortable and she was rather pleased with herself.

"So like, how long is that going to take you? Are you sure I can't help you in there?" Kitty yelled at the general direction of the kitchen where Pietro had insisted on making them a snack.

"I'm sure! Stay away!… Freddy had already pillaged the fridge so it'll take me a little while longer to find something edible." It took Pietro some effort to find some food inside that fridge of theirs but in the end he came out victorious.

"I knew I'd find something." Proclaimed Pietro rather proudly.

"But of course." Kitty just loved to pretend she was feeding his ego. For his part, the white-haired boy simply raised an eyebrow at Pryde as he set the snacks down.

"I don't know which ended up better, the living room or Todd's room." Pietro started to look around the place again. 

"Like, are you sure Todd wont mind that we changed his room a bit?" Kitty didn't think the other freshman was going to appreciate the gesture.

"Are you kidding? He'll love it!" Of course, the evil smile on his face didn't make him too convincing.

            They ate in silence for a while. Kitty was simply enjoying the quiet but it seemed Pietro was using this time to think hard on some things. After a few minutes, which dragged themselves rather slowly for someone with his power, Pietro finally looked up and into the ocean-blue eyes of Kitty. Whatever he was going to say died right there.

"Pietro?… Pietro?" Kitty placed her hand gently on his shoulder, which in turn brought him back to reality.

"What?… did you say something?" Pietro snapped himself back.

"You looked like you wanted to say something." She was waiting, watching him rather curiously and he knew it.

"No… no, it's nothing." He turned his gaze over at the floor finding his shoes rather interesting.

"Oh… well, I better be going. The Professor will get worried if I stay out too late." Kitty got up and walked toward the door with Pietro close on her heels.

"So like, we have to do this again. Furniture rearrangement turned out to be rather fun." She smiled up at him wondering how they ended up doing that to begin with.

"Yeah it was, although I had thought we'd just watch TV or something." 

"Maybe next time like, we could go to the Institute?"

"Right, unfortunately I don't think that would work." He wanted so much to take a better look at that place. He had already been there when he had dropped that little message over for Kurt from Mystique. It was a huge place, but at the speed he was going he couldn't take a good look at it.

"Yeah, guess you're right… So, um… you're walking me home right?"

"Duh! As if I'd let you walk back by yourself." He rolled his eyes at her. She found that gesture to look so adorable on Pietro that she felt her hand moving upwards and grabbing one of his cheeks.

"You're like cute, you know?" Kitty immediately took her hand back feeling a little embarrassed and headed toward the door.

            Pietro shook his head a bit and smiled. Funny how she thought he was the cute one when all he could think about was how beautiful she looked. 

Of course he couldn't just let her walk out that door.  He reached her before she had a chance to turn the knob and gently turned her around to face him. He placed one arm around her waist as his other hand moved slowly over her cheek.

"You're like cute, you know?" he said as he gently raised her chin a bit and slowly moved forward placing his lips on hers.

***********************************************************

"Scott, just face it… we're not going to find Lance today. Let's just get Rogue and go home." Jean has always been very patient with Scott, but today she just wasn't in the mood.

"Fine… let's go home." Scott was sure Lance, Pietro and the rest of the Brotherhood had some sort of evil plan to make his life a living hell.

"Besides man, can't you see him tomorrow at school?" Evan was getting a bit tired too.

"Right Evan, you mean when he's with the Blob, Toad and Quicksilver? You know they'll just start to fight."

"But you know we've got your back, right?" Evan needed some action, just one good fight against Pietro and he would be happy.

"Right Evan… right." Scott was beginning to get a little tired himself. "Alright Jean, where's Rogue so we may go on our way."

            Jean tried to focus on the feisty brown haired girl but she was just too tired and the impending doom of a killer headache was forming in her head. Nevertheless, she sensed their friend in a spot not too far from where they were right now.

"I think she's over that way," Jean pointed down a long corridor of stores. 

"Oh great… now we're Rogue hunting." Said Scott.

"Hey man, think of it this way, at least it's not Kitty the one we're looking for all over the mall." Evan had a point, if it had been Kitty she'd be on the other side of the mall in a heartbeat.

"Fine, let's go get her and…" Scott was interrupted by an excited Evan pulling on his arm.

"Hey man! Look! Let's go buy some of that candy!" Evan was still, after all, one of the youngest of the X-men.

"Candy? Evan we have to find Rogue so we can go home already." Jean would have used her powers to move something heavy to smack Evan with.

"It'll just be a sec!" and off he ran toward the candy stand.

"I guess we should follow him." Declared an exhausted Scott.

*************************************************** 

"So you're not angry with me. I mean, I thought y'all hated me." Rogue was now inside the small candy store; Lance wouldn't get into trouble by letting her in since he was alone working today.

"Well, obviously when you left you weren't exactly on our list of favorite people… but I guess out of all them X-geeks you're the one I… I mean, _we_ can stand the most." Lance was busy refilling some of the candy for display as he talked to Rogue.

"You mean, aside from Pietro. Since the way I hear it, he seems to be able to stand another 'X-geek' a little more then me." Rogue winked at Lance's flustered face.

"Right… Pietro. Still, I'm sure Summers most not be a happy camper with the news of those two. Bet he's making Kitty break up with Pietro any day now… I can't blame him, you know. It just wasn't meant to be."

"What are you talking about? Scott has tried but Kitty is standing firm. She ain't breaking up with him." Rogue watched as Lance turned around to stare at her with wide eyes unfortunately forgetting the various pieces of candy that were now dropping on the floor.

"Oh!…. great, just great!" Lance tried to pick them up.

"Here, let me help ya." Rogue started to pick up some candy as well but it was just too much.

"Wait here… I'll go get a broom." Lance left for the back of the store for a while and apparently left Rogue in charge of any new customers.

"Oh great, they have those pineapple and coconut candy!… Hey, excuse me! Could I get a small bag of those?" asked the voice of a new customer.

"Just a minute… I, … I'm kinda new here." Rogue was trying not to trip over the candy that was on the floor.

"Rogue?" she knew that voice, she looked up to see her teammate.

"Evan?" oh, Lance is so going to like this.

"Hey man, what are you doing over here?" Evan had apparently forgotten about his candy for now.

"Just doing a favor for a friend! Are we going home now? Cause I for one am tired of being here." Rogue hoped she could leave before Scott caught up.

"Hey Evan did you order already? … Rogue?" Both Scott and Jean were left with confused looks as they saw Rogue on the other side of 'Little Washu's Candy Factory'. 

"Ok… we're going home now? It's about time that's all I'm saying!" Rogue jumped to the other side and tried to drag Evan with her.

"Rogue, what were you doing over there?" Jean was too tired to read her thoughts right now.

"Man, this stupid broom was behind the door all this time and I was looking for it like an idiot….  And shit again." Lance could live a normal life with the fact that only Rogue, Pietro and Kitty knew where he worked, but to add annoying Evan, good-looking but still annoying Jean and the mother load of annoyance Scott Summers was just too much.

"Alvers?" Scott was just starring at him.

"Ok…. Come on, say all the jokes you can think about, I don't care. Go on! I dare ya!"

"Umm… well,… hehehehehe.." Evan's laughing was cut short by a hard poke on the ribs thanks to Rogue.

"Ouch! Why you do that man?…. it's funny!"

"Be quiet porcupine!"

"Well Alvers, I… I wasn't expecting to run into you like this…. It's just that… well…. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Scott was clutching his sides as he succumbed to the laughter. After a few moments of trying to remain serious Jean also joined in on the laughing.

            This was just not a good day for Lance… definitely not a good day.           

"Let me guess… is it the apron?" Lance simply wanted to know who was responsible for choosing these stupid aprons as part of the uniform.

"Well… yeah." Answered a 'still laughing' Jean.

"Ok, so if you guys aren't going to buy any candy I seriously recommend that you go. Now." Lance was loosing patience with these X-men… in fact, he never had much of it anyway.

"Wait… Lance…. I need to talk to you." Scott was trying to control his laughter, he had to be serious now, it was just a little hard to look at Alvers right now.

"I don't have time to talk to you Summers, so just take your little team of giggling idiots and go." Lance started to clean up the mess of candy on the floor.

"But you can't honestly tell me you're ok with Pietro dating Kitty, are you?" Scott had to get to the point before he started laughing again.

"Why would it bother him? Come on Scott, face it. You're the only one who's freaked out by those two." Rogue was sure thankful Lance had shown more acceptance for the couple.

"So you haven't talked her into dumping him yet? …….." Lance sighed and ran a hand down his messy long hair. "I leave one thing, just one thing up to you Summers and this is how you handle it?! Mystique is gonna have my neck if she knows about this!" 

"Well, Kitty won't listen to me!" it's not like Scott hadn't tried everything he could think of. "What about you? I didn't see you talking to Pietro about it."

"I thought you would handle it! You seem to enjoy handling everything anyway!" How could this be happening to him? 

~~ Damn it! I'm going to die… and they shall put on my tombstone _'the boy with the adorable apron'_. ~~  Lance sometimes had weird musings.

"Well, Mystique doesn't know yet, we can still fix it." There was hope in Scott eyes… if they could see his eyes… he knew they still had a chance.

"Fine Summers… but whatever it is you've got in mind better work."

            As Scott and Lance talked some more about their great plans Evan helped himself to some pineapple and coconut candy while Rogue kept muttering about how she would never again expect Lance Alvers to act mature. And Jean…. Well,… Jean kept laughing about the apron.

*****************************************************

"You know Freddy, we're never going to find Lance if you just have to stop at every fast food place you know!" By Todd's watch Kurt had teleported them inside the mall an hour ago and they were still looking for their friend.

"I was hungry… besides, how hard can it be to find the place? Just ask someone for _'John's Mighty Gun and Ammo store'._" Fred kept eating some fries.

"Freddy… there is no such store. So my guess is that Lance works somewhere really embarrassing. Maybe one of those girly stores he'd always swear he'd never go into even if they paid him." Todd heard a soft 'poof' behind him and turned around to face Kurt. Amazingly he was beginning to get accustomed to the creepy feeling of not knowing when and where to expect the little Blue boy.

"Should you be using those powers of yours in public Blue boy? That aint healthy." Todd pointed to the overcrowded hallway of the mall.

"Well, as long as I'm careful." Kurt smiled sheepishly at Todd then began his report.

"I looked everywhere you told me, the women clothes stores, the under-ware sections, even perfumes and accessories… people were looking at me funny for being there and I think I'm allergic to some of those perfumes." Kurt looked up to see Freddy still eating the fries.

"When did he get fries? I thought he was eating chicken." Kurt pointed to the greasy objects.

"Yeah well… Freddy here just _had to go_ and buy those. You want some?" that question earned him an evil glare from Fred.

"You mean there's some left?" Kurt was amazed the entire bag wasn't gone.

"Freddy, give me some fries." Todd extended his hand toward his friend.

"No!" Fred hugged the bag tighter.

"What? Freddy, who ended up paying for those fries?!" Todd wanted some fries and he wanted them now.

"It's not my fault I ran out of money!" Fred had actually brought some cash along… but it never lasted in his hands.

"Of course it's your fault, you had to buy all that food instead of waiting to get home. Now give me some fries!" This time Fred gave him the bag which Todd grabbed immediately and handed it over to Kurt.

"I don't think this is edible…" Kurt was not sure his stomach could put up with the type of food Fred usually ate.

"I don't blame you for your lack of enthusiasm. I just can't believe we haven't found Lance yet!" By now Todd knew it was close to the end of Lance's shift and he wouldn't be surprised if they ended up finding him back home.

"Well, at least you tried to find him… you know what you need? How about some…"

"CANDY!" Kurt and Todd both jumped a little out of Fred's outburst.

"Blob, you cannot possibly still be hungry?" Kurt had never known such a bottomless pit.

"Of course he's hungry… he's always hungry." Todd sighed as he realized he had better buy this last item of food for Freddy, otherwise he'd never hear the end of it. "Let's go buy some candy but it's the last thing we'll buy! Otherwise you'll be too heavy for Kurt to teleport."

"Actually, I don't have a problem with…"

"He'll _BE_ TOO HEAVY to teleport!!!" Todd repeated while staring at Kurt.

"Right!…right, too heavy…" Kurt was only glad he didn't have to deal with the Brotherhood on an everyday basis.

            Freddy made his way toward the Candy store faster than anything they'd ever seen. This was going to be, after all, his last food item before they called it quits and Blue Boy teleported them home. He'd be glad when they were back at the comfort of his own kitchen.

"Hey there, I want ten extra large bags of all that candy over there." Fred was generally gesturing toward all the different types of candy.

"Yeah, right. Make that anything we can buy with two bucks." Todd said as he and Kurt reached the store.

            What happened next was a weird moment of complete silence. Lance looked at his two friends (plus one X-men) while the other three mutants looked at the 'missing and now found' Lance. 

~~ Why am I not surprised?…. Should I have been surprised? Nope, not really… maybe, in order to save myself some time, I should make an announcement on the paper saying how I work here and motivate everyone to come look at my apron. WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF IT BEFORE!?!… ~~ Lance had a feeling that after today he would never again feel surprised about anything again.

            The silence was still there for a few moments longer before it was broken by the expected reaction.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" 

            Lance simply looked at his 'friends' (he used the term loosely now) as they laughed to their hearts content.

"Yo man! You work here?!… and you… you wear that cute, little apron!?!?!" Todd couldn't believe it.

"It's always the apron isn't it… I hope you realized that I'm gonna take out my anger on the two of you." Lance just wanted a quiet moment… was that too much to ask?

"We'll have a small bag of chocolates!" Todd said quickly shoving the money on to Lance.

"What?"

"A small bag of chocolates… we're paying customers, you can't be mean to us if we're paying customers." This only saved them for a limited time.

"I will _kill_ you when we get home." Said Lance as he started to fill the small bag. "And what is _he_ doing with you?" he pointed at Kurt who had just now controlled his laughter.

"Well yo! He was helping us look for you. You're hard to find you know." 

"Whatever. Kurt, go back to the Institute, Scott's worried about ya. My shift is almost over so I'm driving us home." Lance threw the small bag of chocolates over at Freddy who stopped laughing the minute the candy was being packed.

"Alright…. Man, you guys are very entertaining." Kurt had a very good time with these Brotherhood boys… imagine that.

"Yeah, we're freaking hilarious…" Lance pulled Kurt inside the store so the young X-man could teleport without any prying eyes. Once he was gone Lance turned to look at his own young teammate.

"What!?!" Todd asked as he was being watched.

"You mean to tell me you guys have been the entire day parading around the mall looking for me?"

"More like doing lines around the mall buying food for Freddy. But yeah, basically, why?"

"Where's Pietro?" Lance was getting a bad feeling as his eyes looked for the young sophomore.

"I dunno… home, I guess." Todd began to understand why Lance looked worried. "He has probably been home alone for a couple of hours… man Lance, we might not have a home to return to!"

*********************************************

"I can jump higher then you!…. oh yeah! I bet I can beat you!… You know why, right? Cause I'm the best!" After seeing Kitty safely back to the Institute Pietro had been a little bored, but not anymore… at least not after he found his new friend.

            The sound of a car parking outside the house was not lost on Pietro, he just didn't wish to end the little contest he had with his friend.

"I can jump higher and you know it!…. You're just jealous!" continued Pietro as he kept jumping.

"Pietro!… what are you doing?" Lance was standing right under the opened door as he took one quick look around the house. "And what happened to the furniture!?!?!"

"I'm jumping on the couch! What does it look like?…. don't you think the furniture looks better this way?" Pietro kept jumping.

"But WHY did you move it?" Lance needed some Tylenol.

"I… I was doing a dancing contest and they were in the way. Yeah, that's why!" Pietro kept jumping. No need to say he had a visitor.

"Hey yo… what reason you have for taking the shade off the lamp?" Todd asked as he placed the lampshade once again.

"AAAHH!!! You killed him!" Pietro immediately stopped jumping and ran toward the offensive lampshade.

"Killed who?" Todd was looking around him nervously thinking that maybe Pietro had brought home some small animal and he had stepped on him or something.

"You killed my friend… and we were just about to decide who could jump higher." Pietro took the lampshade off the lamp and sighed in relief.

"At least no permanent damage was done." Pietro went back to jump on the couch and it was then that Lance, Todd and Freddy noticed that Pietro's shadow was nicely portrayed against the living room's wall.

"Let me get this straight… you're damaging our couch by jumping on it cause you have a contest with your shadow?" Forget the Tylenol, Lance wanted to go to sleep.

"Well, he was here when nobody else was!" mocked Pietro as he stopped jumping and landed on the couch making a very loud and very unhealthy sound with the springs.

"Where were you guys? I've been here bored out of my mind waiting for you!" Pietro placed his hands on his hips as he waited for an answer from his friends. Unfortunately he wasn't going to get one since Lance was too busy drowning himself in aspirin, Fred was eating a bag of chocolates and Todd had already made his way to his room.

"AAH! Pietro! What you do to my room yo!?"   

            Oh yeah, Pietro had almost forgotten about that.

"Ok good night!" the young speed demon made his way to the safety of his room and locked the door. He had better get some sleep because tomorrow… well, tomorrow he had his work cut out for him.

*************************************************

End chapter 12


	13. A Lovers Feud part 13

Ok, I hope you people like this chapter Alejandra Muniz Normal Alejandra Muniz 1 4 2001-11-10T14:45:00Z 2001-11-10T14:49:00Z 12 4568 26043 217 52 31982 9.2720 

Ok, I hope you people like this chapter! ^_^

Sorry it took me a while… *sighs* college is just being a big meany! .

Enjoy! =^_^=

  A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 13**

            Kitty was sitting on her bed watching the dark clouds move slowly in the gray sky. Definitely not a good day to go to school, more like one of those 'I want to sleep in' type of days. Nevertheless, Scott wouldn't let them stay and she knew the Professor wouldn't let them either.

~~ Like, they can't give us a break, you know. ~~ Kitty hugged her pillow tighter as she felt a gust of wind blow into her room. 

            The soft breeze along with the cloudy day made everything look so sad and melancholy, she wished Pietro was keeping her company, he always made her smile.

Just thinking of him made her smile, and that kiss… it had done so much more.  

~~ It was so slow, almost as if he had wanted to say so much with that one kiss. ~~

            It had taken Kitty by surprise… not the kiss, she knew he would kiss her, but the slowness of it. She wasn't expecting that at all. 

            Pietro was always moving, always talking, always joking. He could also be a romantic and slow down from time to time but it never lasts. Yesterday however, he had been serious. He was trying to tell her something, she only wished he would say it already.

~~ But like, I guess for now… it'll be like this. ~~ Kitty's gaze was still captivated by the small drops of rain that were starting to fall.

"Hey! You planning on walking to school today?" Rogue was standing by the door watching her roommate. "Not a good day for it."

"Like, ok… I'm moving, I'm moving." School was not appealing, at all… but at least she'd get to see Pietro.

**************************************************************  

"Get your ass up!!" Lance was pulling on one end of the blankets.

"NO!" Pietro was pulling the other.

"You're not staying home today! You're not sick and you're not going to rearrange the furniture again!" Lance grabbed onto one of Pietro's legs.

"Ah! Let go of me!… Oh, come on Lance! I wont rearrange anything! I swear!" Pietro wanted to sleep… just to sleep… just… for… a bit… more.

"GET UP!" Lance finally pulled hard enough, causing Pietro to land on the hard carpet floor of his room.

"Ow…. I'm up, I'm up…. You lousy dictator." Pietro made his way slowly to the bathroom.

"Two up, one to go." Lance always had the same problem every rainy day. Nobody wanted to get up! Did they think _he _wanted to go to school on such a cold day as this?

~~ HELL NO! ~~ Lance usually had no problem with Freddy, the promise of a huge breakfast always got him going. Now Pietro and Todd… well, those two were a headache.

            Good thing waking Pietro up today hadn't resorted to violence… the young speed demon would usually get up after Lance had him pinned on the floor and begging for mercy. Well, in all honesty Pietro Maximoff never _begged_, he would usually say:

"Ok, ok, ok, ok, okokokokokokokokokokokokokok" until Lance let him go. Now that Lance thought about it, that was rather fun.

            Now he had to wake Todd. That was rather difficult. Lance couldn't punch him like he did with Pietro and he couldn't cajole him with promises of food like Freddy… he had to reason with him. Usually you could reason with Todd Tolensky, but not when the young boy's brain was half in a coma and the other half barely understanding you.

            Lance knocked on Todd's door a few times.

"Todd?… are you up?…. yeah right, like he's up." He knocked again.

"Todd! I'm coming in." Lance opened the door and was met by complete darkness. He tried to make his way toward Todd's bed but found he couldn't see it, he could only guess it's location by where he had seen it last.

~~ Dear God, please don't let me step on something….~~ 

"OUCH! Damn it!" Lance grabbed his foot as a small lamplight was turned on.

"What you doing here yo?" Todd's eyes were halfway opened and his hair was one big mess… and to Lance's surprise the bed was on the opposite direction of where he was going.

"What are you doing over there?" Lance asked pointing at the bed.

"Don't you remember? Pietro was bored last night." Todd simply dumped himself back on his pillow.

"Oh, right. Almost forgot…. Hey, HEY! Don't go back to sleep! Come on, we have to get going." Lance now walked toward his friend while trying not to step on the CD cases, magazines and pizza boxes on the floor.

"I'm not going." Replied Todd through his pillow.

"What do you mean 'you're not going'? You're not sick, are you?" Lance tried to feel Todd's forehead but it was stubbornly stuck onto the pillow.

"I'm tired… I don't wanna go." Todd was whining, Lance knew he would soon crack up to his demands.

"Todd… we have to go to school cause otherwise you'll just be here all day… with Pietro." This made the young boy look up.

"With Pietro?" 

"Oh yes… and I'll give him sugar too." Lance had this evil look on his face.

"You wouldn't…." Todd's eyes grew wide.

"You know I would." Lance had no problem giving Pietro sugar… so long as he was nowhere to be found afterwards.

"You animal!…. fine, fine… but I really don't wanna go! I feel like today is just not meant to be my day Lance. It's as if I had this weird feeling that I'm destined to stay in this bed for the next 24 hours!" Todd tried to make his half-asleep brain come up with semi-decent excuse for staying home today. Apparently mysticism didn't work on Lance.

"I'll be waiting for you downstairs." And with that Lance left the young boy to his musings.

*************************************************************** 

Things had been relatively quiet during breakfast; Pietro was taking a nap on the kitchen table, Freddy was eating rather slowly and Todd kept whining because they never left him any of the good cereal. Lance blamed it all on the weather.

However, not even the weather could keep someone as active as Pietro down, unfortunately. Once in the car the white-haired sophomore had decided to imitate the sound of rain and was, because his only reason for existence told him to, annoying the hell out of Lance.

"Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip …" counted Pietro.

"Hey…" Lance was going to have a headache… and they hadn't reached the school grounds yet.

"Drip, drip, drip…" continued Pietro.

"HEY!" 

"Drip, drip, drip…"

"Stop it." Lance wanted him to shut up.

"drip, drip, drip…"

"Pietro!"

"Drip, drip, drip."

"Please?" Lance was loosing his mind.

            Todd, who was sitting in the front seat this time, was keeping a close eye on the road in case Lance mental sanity snapped.

"Drip, drip, drip" continued Pietro

"I asked you to stop." Lance was trying to be nice.

"Drip,drip,drip,drip."

"Pietro, cut it out!" 'Nice' wasn't working.

"Drip,drip,drip,drip,drip,drip,drip,drip."

"Now I'm telling you, Stop it!" Lance's grip on the steering wheel was turning his knuckles white.

"Drip,drip,drip,drip,drip, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP!"

"You enjoy annoying the hell out of me, don't you?"

"DRIP!"

"Don't make me go back there!" Lance looked at Pietro through the review mirror, Pietro did not feel threaten.

"Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip …"

"You're going to be very sorry if I get up from here."

"DRIP, DRIP, DRIP…….. DRIP!"

"I'm going to give you one more chance, please stop it."

"DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP."

"Ok, THAT DOES IT!" By then, thank God, they had reached the school grounds and Lance had just finished parking the car. Obviously both boys made a run for it. In any normal case Pietro's speed would've saved him but when he got up to run away from the wrath of the eldest Brotherhood member Pietro noticed that he still had his seatbelt on thus giving Lance the perfect opportunity to catch the young annoying sophomore and start pounding him inside the car.

            While Lance pounded Pietro, and Todd and Freddy waited for the normal display of violence to be over, a bright red convertible made it's way into the parking lot.

"What is Alvers doing?" asked Scott as he parked the car.

"I think he's stuffing something into his back pack." At least, that's what Kurt thought.

"Like, no way! The back seat probably broke and he's like fixing it." That's what Kitty thought.

"Gee, maybe if I'm lucky he's beating up Pietro." Evan was very lucky indeed.

            At that moment a door in the Brotherhood's car was opened and out of it came Pietro half dragging himself away from Lance.

"Promise you'll never annoy me like that again!" shouted Lance 

"Bite me!" Of course, Pietro knew he shouldn't have said that.

            Lance was about to make the young speed demon take back his words until they all heard the very excited voice of one X-geek coming loud and clear.

"Alright! Go for it Lance!" Evan finally got to see some Pietro bashing.

            All four Brotherhood members turned around toward the shiny red convertible. They hadn't been aware they had an audience all this time. 

"Hey! This is a private Pietro beating! Get out of here!" but Lance knew it was hopeless to try and catch the young sophomore now.

"Oh my God! Pietro, are you like alright?" Kitty ran toward the white haired boy and knelt down beside him while putting a hand on top of his head in concern.

"Oh Kitty!… it was awful!" Pietro hugged Kitty tight as he told his sad tale. "I just wanted a cookie and Lance told me he'd beat me up with a bat! I don't know what got into him, I was only… OUCH!" a book made contact with Pietro's back.

"Don't give me any ideas Pietro or next time I'll really use a bat!" Lance always had a good reason for his Pietro beatings.

"Come on Alvers, whatever he did it couldn't have been that bad." Scott wasn't really trying to help the young sophomore, it was simply an unspoken rule that whatever Lance did Scott would criticize and whatever Scott did Lance would make fun.

"Hey, shut up Summers. Who the heck asked you?!" the dark haired boy couldn't believe his luck. He had definitely had enough X-men run-ins to last him a lifetime.

"Now really, most we start a fight now?" it was just too early for Jean, simply too early.

"I think you should beat Pietro up more often!" Evan was a little disappointed his New Yorker counterpart had run away. 

"Like, what's wrong with you Evan?!" Kitty didn't like that idea.

"Hey Pietro… are you… well, umm… are you going to let go of Kitty any time soon?" Kurt found it so curious that Pietro was still clinging on to Kitty for protection.

Pietro pretended to think about for a moment. 

"Well… actually… no, not right now." Pietro smiled devilishly as he held on tighter to Kitty's waist.

"Yo! I'm gonna puke." Todd took his backpack from the car and started to make his way to the school.

"I'm gonna be ill." Rogue took her things and followed in the direction Todd had gone through.

            Lance and Scott stared at each other, then their eyes wondered toward the 'happy couple'.

"Aw… are you ok now Pietro?" 

"Well, I'm still a little scared of Lance. I mean, the guy _did_ try to kill me. But I guess now that _you're_ here everything is ok." He had such a sweet innocent face that unless you knew how Pietro Maximoff really was, you'd think he was a perfect angel.

"Aw! That's like, so cute!… hey, your hair smells like raspberries!" Kitty was still patting him on his head.

"Oh yeah, that's my new shampoo that I rescued from the evil Todd. Can you believe he wanted to steal it from me?!" Pietro had been outraged.

"Well like, why don't you let him use it?"

"Cause… it's mine." It was so simple.

"But like, he wasn't going to use the whole bottle, you know." 

"I don't care, it's mine." Pietro pouted and Kitty sighed, no progress was going to be done today regarding Pietro's sharing habits.

"Ok… now _I'm_ going to puke." Scott couldn't believe he was witnessing this.

"And I'm already ill." There were few things both Lance Alvers and Scott Summers agreed on… this was one of them.

"We seem to have a most uncomfortable audience… let's get out of here." Pietro got up and while holding Kitty by her waist made a mad run toward the school. Nobody saw that one coming… or going.

            Lance looked at Scott for a while, then decided to look at Freddy. 

~~ No more X-geeks, no more X-geeks.~~ Lance needed to find some sort of deserted island where he would be free of noisy X-geeks.

            Freddy looked back at Lance and decided they needed some 'No X-geeks time'. So he took both their backpacks and placing a hand gently on Lance's shoulders moved him away from the shiny red convertible.

"Just one day… one day… no X-geeks. Just one day…" Lance needed a break.

"I know Lance… I know." Freddy was patting him on the head now.   

            Back inside the red convertible Evan was mumbling about how there wasn't enough Pietro bashing while Kurt gave him funny looks and called him a sadist.

Jean was wondering when was the last time they had a normal morning while Scott was looking at Lance's retreating form. 

~~ This plan better work… it has to. It will… I'll make it work. ~~ Scott already had himself an idea.

**********************************************************

            As Todd walked down the crowded hallway all he wanted was to forget he had a first class. In fact, he wanted to forget he had a second one and a third one and all the others while he was at it. Unfortunately the endless babbling of excited happy high schoolers was making him sick.

~~ How could this many people be so happy on a day like this yo?! ~~ the sky was still cloudy and it looked like they wouldn't be seeing any sunlight today. It was one of those perfect days to forget you had to come to school. Of course, leave it to Great Dictator Lance to remind you 'rather forcefully' that you _had _to go to school. He was at least glad Lance never pinned him to the floor like he usually had to do with Pietro.

~~ Well, that's cause I'm the _baaaaabyyyyyy_!!! I'm just one friggen year younger then Pietro for God's sake. ~~ 

            Even though being the baby did have it's advantages, like Lance not beating on him and Freddy always leaving some edibles behind after the great Blob strikes the kitchen, it also usually meant he was played the most pranks by Pietro and being told what NOT to do on numerous occasions by Lance while Pietro did whatever he wanted anyway.

~~ Life is so unfair yo! ~~ thought the young freshman as he made his way to his locker. He supposed his life at home could be worse, it had definitely been worse on his previews foster homes. He shouldn't complain, he should be thankful he finally had someone who would be worried if he got home late… even if that same person would use screaming as a way to show their concern.

            Todd was a little too wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice he was going to go through a very jock populated hallway on the way to his locker. If you were a normal person you could take any route you wanted to reach your desired destination, but if you were Todd Tolensky you had to watch out for football player areas.

"Hey Toad! Where do you think you're going?!"

~~ Oh damn! ~~ Todd turned around to stare at a group of jocks that were leaning against the lockers. The one who spoke was non other then his 'favorite' person, Duncan Matthews. He thought about running but the hallway was just too crowded for that and the only way he could get away was if he used his mutant powers. That wasn't an option.

"Hey Duncan… yo! How ya doing? Just getting to my locker, no big deal. Later." Todd tried to run away, he really did but he could never go fast enough.

"I don't think so little Toad. You're not supposed to be showing that ugly face of yours around here." Duncan had grabbed Todd by his neck and had pushed him hard against one of the lockers. It had been too long since the last time he had picked on the Toad. Duncan had almost missed it.

            Todd found it a little harder to breath now. Funny, it had been a while since Duncan had picked on him like this. He was beginning to get used to the quiet normal mornings, guess it was back to hiding and dodging. 

            It was moments like these that he didn't mind Lance treating him like a baby. That is, if only Lance decided to show up soon. Todd didn't care which Brotherhood member came by, he just needed one… preferably Freddy. That would teach Duncan to mess with 'the Toad'. Unfortunately for him, no Brotherhood members in sight, but as if his luck just couldn't get any worse he did see someone he recognize. Problem was that was the last person on Earth he wanted to see right now.

"HEY! What do ya'll think you're doing?" Rogue was standing in the middle of the hallway with hands on her hips looking incredibly mad.

"Stay out of this! It's none of your business!" Duncan was not going to let that little girl spoil his fun.

"Oh, I think it _is_ my business." Rogue moved in closer to Duncan.

"And why is that?" Duncan didn't think it'd look great if he pushed a girl down in front of his friends and cheerleaders, but if she kept this up he was going to have to do something.

"Because football for brains… you're trashing him in front of _my_ locker." Rogue was standing very close to the two boys now.

"Oh!… My bad. Guess we're going to have to move Toady." Duncan's defenses were down now and this was Rogue's perfect opportunity. She slammed the back of her boot down on Duncan's foot as hard as she could and as he was howling in pain Todd used this chance to run away from the jocks.

            Both Rogue and Todd made a mad run for anywhere that wasn't where the jocks were right now. Once they figured they were far away they stopped to catch their breaths.

"Oh my God!… *pants*  I didn't think that would work!" Rogue was still high on adrenaline and she felt all… giddy.

"I've never seen Duncan in so much pain yo!" Todd was glad he was out of there, not that he had actually needed any help… but he was glad anyway.

"I feel like I want to do that again!" Rogue was all smiles. Devilish smiles.

"Hey yo! No, no, no. I see why you would want to do it, but now Duncan is on to you. You won't be able to pull the same stunt twice." Todd did not want to be thinking that Rogue could be the victim of any jock prank.

"Relax sugah, I'm not going anywhere near those brain dead people. I'm just glad you're alright." Rogue was giving him a concerned smile.

"Well, I… it's not like… like I couldn't handle them! I've been dealing with people like Duncan all my life, you know." Todd wanted Rogue to understand that he could take care of himself.

"Oh I know that Todd." Replied Rogue.

~~ Ha! Finally seeing what an independent man I am. ~~ Todd's inner musings were sometimes as dangerous as Pietro's.

"That's why you should wait for Lance from now on." That last remark from Rogue definitely made Todd's eyes narrow. "He'll make sure they don't pick on ya anymore." 

            The bell rang at that moment and Rogue realized she still hadn't changed her books.

"Oh rats! I'm late again!… later Todd!" she said as she ran toward her real locker.

"Yeah… later." Todd didn't feel like going anywhere right now though.

*************************************************************

            Pietro kept running with Kitty until he figured neither Lance nor Scott would find them. Unfortunately he had been so busy looking back that he hadn't noticed they had already arrived at the gym until he thought for sure they would hit the wall. Now was one of those times Kitty was glad for her mutant powers. As Pietro kept running they phased through the wall and landed on top of one of the gymnastic mattress on the floor.

"Oh my God! Like, don't ever do that again!" Kitty simply wasn't used to travel at those speeds.

"Oh my God! We _so_ have to do that again! I want to do it again! Let's go!" Pietro found the phasing through walls part fun.

"Would you like cool it down! What if someone saw us?! We can't be doing stuff like this around school you know!" Kitty was sure she was going to be labeled a mutant around the whole school now.

"Would you relax. I came this way because hardly anyone is here this early in the morning. Besides, most Phys. Ed. Teachers give the class off on cloudy days like this one." 

Pietro was indeed right. Not a single person was inside the gym at that moment, it was rather freaky actually.

"So like, these are the romantic places you take me to." Kitty poked on Pietro's arm for a bit.

"Kitty, I swear this weekend, after the play I'm taking you anywhere you want!" Pietro's mind then quickly registered a few things. The play. Darkholme was going to the play. Darkholme was bad… she was eeeeeeevil! And had to be stopped.

"By the way, what are you doing after lunch today?" he asked rather innocently.

"Like, what do you mean what am I doing? I'm taking math and history after lunch."

"Really?… and how are your grades in those classes?" Pietro was ever so concerned.

"Oh, like I'm doing great! I had a 100 on my last math test and a 97 in history, which like could've sooo been a 99 if the teacher hadn't been so picky. I was like totally mad, you know." Kitty went on and on and on…

            Normally Pietro didn't have the patience to deal with such a conversation, but since he could stare at Kitty while he waited he found he rather enjoyed when she went on talking like this.

"… and so like, that was totally mean of her!… why do you ask?"

"Umm?… oh, right well… I think you should skip them and come help me with something." He still had his innocent little smile.

"Are you like insane? No way!" Kitty crossed her arms.

"Why not?… please! Pretty please!… besides, I need your help! And we can't very well have Mystique running loose on Friday, now can we?" Pietro placed his hands on his hips as he waited for Kitty to answer.

"Nuh huh!" she turned around not facing him.

            Pietro sighed and decided he needed to be more coaxing in this matter. He moved closer to Kitty and wrapping his arms around her started to give her little kisses on her neck and cheek.

"Please… pretty please? You're so adorable, did you know that?" he whispered in her ear as he noticed her giggling.

"Like, cut that out!… oh, all right! I'll skip, but like don't be thinking it's going to be a regular thing from now on." She said as she leaned on him a little more.

"Oh, you're just so good to me!" they continued to kiss until a very annoying bell rang in the distance.

"Oh rats! We're like, late! Come on Pietro! Let's go!" Kitty jumped up like a light and taking her backpack started her way toward the exit.

"Can't we… stay here… for just a sec!?!?!?" Pietro had been very comfortable! He didn't want to move.

"No! Move it!" and Kitty started to walk without him.

"Oh, damn it…" he guessed they'd cuddle a little later.

****************************************************

~~ Boring, boring, boring… this class is just too dull! Why can't they say something half interesting for once? ~~

            Lance was trying to keep himself busy by decorating his 'already doodle filled' notebook. It was his last morning class and he was eagerly awaiting the final bell to ring so he could go have lunch. Of course, lunch in Bayville High wasn't something you looked forward to… but it was a break from the monotonous sound of his teachers talking.

            He raised his head a little trying to look as if he had been listening to the teacher… or at least as if he understood half of what that man was saying. He regretted doing so immediately. His eyes met with the trademark red sunglasses of his 'favorite person'. Summers had been looking at him! Lance looked back down at his notebook and pretended he was busy with something.

            He needed a break from these insane people! Just yesterday alone he had seen enough of them to last him his entire lifetime. Surely Summers was getting just a bit sick of watching him too. Lance ventured his head up again… nope; apparently the oldest X-geek wasn't getting tired of watching him. 

            Lance sighed as his doodles started to look like a stick person with sunglasses. He figured he'd next draw another stick person holding a machine gun and aiming it at the previews stick person. Then, of course, he finished his grand masterpiece by drawing arrows from the little stick people and labeling one as 'the Almighty Avalanche: Ruler of all you See' and the other as 'X-geek!'. Ah! It was the work of genius!

            The bell decided to ring at that moment waking him up from his little fantasies of destruction and mayhem. He shoved his books into his broken backpack and headed toward the door. Unfortunately he didn't get a chance to cross it.

"Hey Alvers!" called the person that inspired his first stick person.

"Busy! Have to go! Don't bother me!" he wanted to race through that door and find his other friends and have lunch, was that too much to ask? But his arm was being held back now. He didn't like that. "Let go of me Summers."

"Hey, I just want to talk… I think you'd like to hear me out." Scott was taking Lance out into the crowded hallway, but he wouldn't let go of him just yet.

"What in the world gave you that idea?!" Lance yanked his arm free and would've left to find his friends but Scott's next words stopped him.

"You now you have a problem! I know a way we can solve it though." Scott was looking at him waiting for his reaction.

~~ Well will you look at that! Scotty here finally became useful and thought of a plan… it's about time! ~~ thought Lance as he continued looking at Scott.

"Hey Summers… my problem is also _your_ problem so go and solve it already." Lance turned to leave.

"But I need your help!" Scott felt dirty all of a sudden.

"What was that again?" now this was worth sticking around for.

"I… I require your assistance." Scott felt really gross now.

"You need my help? **_You_** need my help. You need **_my_** help. **_You_** need **_my_** help…" 

"YEAH! Yeah! Enough already!" Scott was beginning to have second thoughts.

"Well… since you ask so nicely. What exactly do I have to do?" Lance definitely needed something fun to do; he might as well bother Summers while he was at it.

"Well… I think I've finally figured out a plan, but I need your help on getting to Pietro." Scott and Evan had thought long and hard last night for this new plan; it had better work or else Scott would go crazy. 

"I'm not sure Summers… I'll have to think about it." Lance was having fun!

"Oh, come on! You don't really have to do much. Just bring him to the back of the building after school. That's it." Scott was sure even Lance could handle that.

"And what exactly are you going to do?" he eyed the X-men senior suspiciously for a while. What exactly was their 'great plan'?

"Don't worry about that, we're not going to hurt him. Just bring him, alright?" Scott didn't wait for an answer; he simply turned around and left the Brotherhood senior out in the hallway.

"…. Fine… Weird nutcases… all of them!" and Lance made his way toward his very hungry friends.

****************************************************

"WHERE IS HE?!" the huge mutant was pacing around the hallway looking nervous… probably because he was hungry.

"Freddy, relax! A teacher probably stopped him cause of something or other… you know how they are. Besides, I told you to take Todd and go to the cafeteria already." Pietro didn't mind waiting for Lance since he wasn't that hungry anyway, but Freddy would not leave unless all four of them were present. 

            Pietro's eyes moved from the hypnotic pace of Freddy's steps to the unusually quiet form of Todd. The young freshman was leaning against the lockers next to Pietro. His arms were wrapped around himself as he stared at his untied shoelaces. The white-haired boy had tried talking to him; he tried to joke around for a while, he made comments about the weather or about Lance and his low tolerance for the word 'drip'.

~~ Unexplainable! Simply unexplainable! ~~ thought Pietro as he tried to suppress an evil smile from showing. But again his mind wondered back to Todd and to the nagging question of why he was so quiet.

"Hey, are you hungry? You could always go ahead if you want Todd. Maybe save us a seat?" Pietro thought maybe the boy's lack of response was due to low sugar levels in his body.

            Todd's eyes widen for a second, but quickly went back to stare at his shoelaces.

"I rather wait for Lance." Was all he said.

~~ Yo, I'm so pathetic… I'm doing exactly what Rogue said I should, 'wait for Lance, wait for Lance'. I don't WANT to WAIT FOR LANCE! But there's no way I can walk into that cafeteria by myself without those stupid jocks noticing. ~~

            His neck still hurt on the places Duncan's fingers had squeezed this morning. He had almost gotten used to the quiet mornings when the only 'beating' he got was a slap on the head by Pietro, which was always followed by Lance smacking Pietro back for 'picking on little Todd'. 

            Now it was back to making sure he wasn't anywhere near jock populated areas. Either that or always be walking with some Brotherhood member. He supposed he should be thankful none of them knew what happened, otherwise they'd really be babying him and he'd have to start smacking some people.

"Hey Todd… what's that on your neck?" Pietro was really close now pointing at the purple marks that now decorated his skin.

"AH!… Umm, it's nothing… I,… well, I don't know how it got there." Todd started to pull the neck of his shirt up and then began to place his slightly long dark-gold hair around his neck.

"How could you not know how that happened?" As if Pietro was going to believe that.

"It's nothing, nothing…" Todd tried to smile at his concerned friend as if to make him understand that purples marks on a neck were a casual thing. Todd then moved closer to Pietro and whispered in his ear so as to not let their other friend hear him. 

"Freddy and I were playing around wrestling and I guess he went a little overboard. You know how big he is; he sometimes can't control his strength… Anyway, I don't want him finding out cause then he'll feel bad yo, and it was just an accident." There, that was a good reasonable lie!

"Right… Freddy did that…" Pietro didn't sound convinced though. But his questions would have to wait as Lance decided to finally make his entrance.

"Look who finally decided to show up." Pietro stuck his tongue out at Lance as the older boy came closer.

"Sip it, Pietro. I thought you guys would be eating by now." Lance suddenly felt Freddy's huge hand grab his arm as the hungry mutant pulled them toward the cafeteria.

"Hey!… ok Freddy, I get it. You're hungry… let go! I can walk you know!" 

"We have to go eat! We can't be late." Freddy was walking fairly fast for someone his size.

"Oh my god… isn't it hypnotizing the way his whole body jiggles as he runs?" leave it to Pietro to point something like that out.

            Lance and Todd looked at Freddy's moving form, then stared at each other for a while, then they both looked at Pietro with menacing eyes. Lance then proceeded to punch Pietro on the shoulder… hard.

"Ow! Lance! Control yourself!" said a still smiling sophomore as he rubbed his damaged shoulder.

"That is NOT the mental image I want to have stuck in my head Pietro! Good God! What's wrong with you!?" Lance continued to ramble an endless list of "why me's" and 'you imbecile' as Pietro kept laughing uncontrollably. 

            Todd was simply walking behind his two bickering friends wondering why he wasn't enjoying this as much as he should. He suddenly stopped and made his way toward one of the windows as if in some sort of trance. Outside he saw all the other children as they were happily talking and giggling as they ate their lunch. 

He didn't want to go out there… but he didn't know why? He then realized he was standing completely alone in the hallway and ran to catch up with his friends, because even though he didn't feel like going outside he certainly didn't wish to be left alone right now.


	14. A Lovers Feud part 14

Hello! ^_^

Yes, I know… I've taken a while with this fic… (bad Alex! Bad!)

But I'm working hard on it once more! (audience throws a cookie at Alex) (yummy! =^_^=)

So enjoy! And kindly keep those reviews coming! ~_^

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 14**

The young boy had completely forgotten why he was looking forward to lunch period today. It's not like they served anything good anyway… he was so tempted to run to the boys' bathroom and simply teleport back to the Institute and make himself something decent and edible. But of course, if he did that the others would make him go back for more and he'd be their personal fast food delivery boy.

~~ Besides, Scott would probably kill me if I did that anyway. ~~ thought Kurt as he looked around his table and laid his eyes on the before mentioned senior. 

There was a reasonable part of him that acknowledged the fact that Scott was right. Using their powers in public on a whim could be dangerous… but surely the lack of healthy food supplies had to be a good enough reason for that risk. 

The blue X-men kept looking around his friends watching as they did what was in their personalities to do.

Scott was eating his 'evil' lunch with a dissatisfied look on his face; sure he tried to hide it but it was just too obvious. Jean was calmly eating as if what she had before her could be considered 'normal' food. But then again, she was cheating… she could create a mental shield to save her taste buds from the agony of this lunch. 

Evan was busy making a complicated sculpture with his smashed potatoes. That looked like fun, he should start one too. Then he saw Rogue… she had bought herself a bag of chips and was eating it gladly. Apparently she could survive with only that. Then he watched Kitty… by the look on her face he could only guess she was wondering if her meal was still alive.

            Boy, he loved this crazy bunch! They were his friends and he was glad they each had their own, sometimes very different, personalities. Just then though he heard a loud racket coming from a few tables down. He turned to look just as Lance was reaching out to grab Pietro by his neck shouting about why couldn't the white haired boy ever shut up. 

Kurt figured Pietro & Evan shared the sometimes-annoying characteristic of saying disgusting stuff just when others were eating. 

~~ Must be a New York thing… ~~ Kurt smiled a bit wondering how those two could hate each other and still have such endearing similar traits.

Just then Kurt realized there was one Brotherhood member missing… where was Todd? The blue mutant looked around the cafeteria with curious eyes. Surely Todd could not be too far behind… a few seconds later Kurt's eyes landed on his target. The Brotherhood freshman was busy looking at his 'lunch' wondering whether it was still alive. Kurt noticed as Todd's steps took an automatic turn through the different tables without once looking up. The Brotherhood always sat in the same little corner… it wasn't really odd since he just noticed he and his friends usually also sat in the same general area. However, Todd's turns eventually made him pass next to the 'ever-enchanting' jock table and Kurt noticed when a long muscular arm got in the way between the small freshman and his destination. Kurt's eyes moved quickly to Lance, but the older mutant was too preoccupied with the annoying sophomore to notice Todd's predicament.

            Surely Duncan would behave himself in such a public place… right?…right?!? 

Ok, now Kurt was sure there was something wrong with his food if such delusional ideas were making their way up his head. He finally figured he'd give Todd a hand… after all, they haven't been fighting for a while, and the kid wasn't all that bad.

As he approached the jock table he could hear Duncan's threatening words.

"Thought I told you this area was off limits Toad." 

Todd kept looking around feeling claustrophobic as the circle of jocks evolved him. He only hoped this would be over soon.

"Hey! How are we all doing?!" Kurt chimed in cheerfully as he placed himself between Todd and Duncan getting the football player's attention.

"What do _you_ want?" was Duncan's only response.

"Why, to give you an important message." Ok, Kurt now had his attention… now what did he do? He looked over at Todd for some help but the freshman was just as lost for ideas. So it meant Kurt would have to improvise. "Umm… you see… Jean wanted me to tell you that she wants to meet you after school!" 

~~ Jean, may you one day forgive me… ~~ apparently Jean Grey was Duncan's only known weakness.

"What?… are you sure about that?!" Duncan would be beating someone up pretty badly if this turned out to be a lie.

"Of course! Just look right at our table." Indeed, since the moment Kurt had gotten up both Jean and Scott had been keeping track of him. As Duncan looked at the redhead Kurt began signaling them to wave so Jean slowly waved back not really knowing what was going on. That seemed to satisfy Duncan's questions.

"Well, seems she can't get enough of Me." Said Duncan as he waved back in a smooth gesture. Both Kurt and Todd had to roll their eyes at that one.

"Ok, anyway… I guess we'll be going now." Kurt grabbed Todd by his arm and started to make his way out of the jock circle. 

"Hey, wait! Where do you think you're going toad?" Duncan grabbed Todd's other arm.

"But Duncan… you wouldn't want Jean to see you bulling someone right now, do you?" and again Kurt's words seemed to magically stop Duncan.

"Fine, whatever… guess we'll talk later Toad." Was all the football player could come up with.

            Todd sure was happy to be getting out of that circle of death he was trapped in. He looked over at Kurt as they made their way toward their different tables. 

"Hey… thanks yo. Guess Dunc finally remembered I was alive." Todd tried to make a small laugh but it just didn't want to come out.

"Are you ok?" asked Kurt in a concerned voice as he noticed Todd's slight paler face.  

"Of course I'm ok… hey, I'm used to Duncan, alright." Todd gave up all intention on laughing at his situation and simply looked ahead toward his table.

"Alright, alright." Kurt placed his hands up as a peace gesture. "I was just worried."

"Well, you don't have to be." Todd saw his friends now, it seemed they were having fun. Pietro was laughing uncontrollably again as he stood behind Freddy, while Freddy was trying to calm a very upset Lance.

"I'm gonna KILL you, you little brat!" was heard loud and clear as Lance tried, without much success, to pass beyond Freddy.

"I guess I'll see you later…" and with that Todd left the blue mutant to himself.

***************************************************** 

"Like, what was that all about?" asked Kitty as she took her attention away from her 'lunch'.

"Nothing really… looks like Duncan is being a bully again." Kurt sat back down to try and finish his inedible meal. 

"Someone ought to just teach that guy a lesson!" said Rogue as she took one of her gloves off.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" came Scott's worried voice. "You can't just go over there and touch him, you know!"

"And why not? No one will know it was me, he just 'fainted'." Rogue tried to smile sweetly at Scott, but the older mutant wasn't buying it. "You're so not fun Scott."

"I've been telling him that for a long time now." Added Kurt, as he laughed a bit.

"Besides, shouldn't we let the Brotherhood deal with this situation first?" Jean looked over at the boy's table and winced at their current situation.

            Pietro was in one corner of the table holding his head in pain and whining about how Lance didn't have to hit him so hard while Todd tried to cheer him up. Lance was sitting on the other end of the table eating peacefully with a satisfied smile on his face while Freddy simply shook his head. 

~~ CHILDREN! All of them! ~~ thought Freddy.

"I think Lance was a bit more occupied trying to kill Pietro." Said Scott after a while.

"Well, wouldn't you?! That guy is completely annoying and rude and… OW!" Evan rubbed his arm slightly as he looked at Kitty.

"Told you to like, stop saying stuff about him. He's very mature and responsible and reasonable." Kitty didn't understand how anyone could miss such obvious traits from her Pietro.

            Suddenly though they all turned to the Brotherhood table as a loud "JERK!" was heard followed by the sound of 'SPLAT!!!'. Lance now had a gooey mountain of mash potatoes on top of his head as the older mutant simply sat there is semi-shock with his mouth slightly open. Todd and Freddy were also left in shock for a few moments when suddenly Todd turned to Pietro.

"You're so dead yo!" Now Todd thought this was funny.

"… yeah, I know…" and in order to make Pietro's situation a little worse they heard a loud round of laughter erupt from the jock table.

"Nice hat Alvers!" screamed Duncan causing everyone else who hadn't noticed what happened to look and laugh.

            The ground started to shake softly at first but that soon changed to make way for a harder shake. 

"Ok, Igottogo! Later!" and Pietro was gone from the cafeteria. 

            Meanwhile Freddy was trying to calm Lance down but the older mutant wouldn't have it and the shaking was starting to make a few kids panic. 

Scott decided he had better get involved or else they'd all be trapped under the building.  So he ran toward the Brotherhood table and taking a glass of water he immediately splashed it on Lance's face.

For a second time that day Lance was left in a mouth-opened state of shock.

"Snap out of it Alvers." Said Scott rather casually.

"Ok… so this is your way of NOT UPSETTING ME!?!?!?!?" Lance was still angry but the shaking had stopped.

"Well, it worked…" Scott had a sheepish smile, he had rather enjoyed doing that.

"I'm so going to kill that little brat!" screamed Lance as he removed some mash potatoes from his hair.

"That would work fine for me…" Scott wasn't going to stop him if he really felt like doing that.

            Lance stopped cleaning himself and looked directly at the other senior. Both leaders kept staring at each other, if out of stubbornness or lack of anything else to do, they weren't sure.

"What are you still doing here?… Go away!" said Lance as he resumed his cleaning chore.

"Just remember, back of the building after school." And Scott turned and left the mash potato covered teen.

            After a few moments of silence Freddy decided to voice his question.

"What are you doing at the back of the school?" Fred had been in ear shot for that little comment.

"Huh?…. Oh! Nothing… I just… well,… can you help me get this stuff off?" The evil food item seemed to like Lance's hair. 

            Lance eyed Freddy suspiciously as the bigger mutant was helping with his hair. His eyes then moved over to Todd who apparently hadn't heard Scott's untimely comment, so for now he was safe of unwanted questioning.

~~ Stupid Summers can't let me live my life in peace! As if I didn't have enough things to do! ~~ Lance started to grumble. Fred was starting to give out concerned looks and even Todd's attention was focused on the sullen behavior of the other mutant. Lance needed a vacation.

***************************************************

            The bell had finally rung and everyone reluctantly returned to their afternoon classes. Kitty didn't want to go though, she supposed no one ever really wanted to sit down for most of the day and have an adult recite important nonsense at them. Funny thing was, all those adults actually expected you to remember what they had been talking about the day before… very funny indeed.

But Kitty's reason for not wanting to go to class wasn't like everyone else's. Pietro was supposed to meet her. He was supposed to have a plan for getting rid of Darkholme on Friday. She still had no idea how that would be arranged. Now, if only the white-haired boy decided to make his presence known.

As Kitty walked down the hallway, thinking that perhaps Lance had carried out his threat to kill the sophomore boy, a hand came out of no where and pulled her into… the _boys bathroom!_

"Ah! Like, what's the big idea?!… oh, hi Pietro. I was getting worried you know." Said Kitty as she took in her surroundings.

"Yeah well… it's getting harder to hide from Lance lately. Had to run to the other end of town for a while." he said as he looked at himself in the mirror.

"I'm in the boys bathroom…." 

"Yes, that's correct… don't ever say I don't take you places." He winked at her and continued to examine himself in the mirror.

"I'm in the **_boys_** bathroom…." 

"Yes sweetie… we've established that. Now, we need only wait a couple of minutes until Darkholme  begins her afternoon route around the school."

"Oh god Pietro! I'm in the **_boys bathroom_**!!"

"…….….." the white haired boy stopped meddling with his hair and simply stared at her.

"Ok, I get it! I get it! But like, what if someone needs to come in here?" she asked eyes wide with fear.

"I'll tell'em I'm here with a girl and make them go away." Pietro was now leaning against the wall as Kitty walked over to him.

"And I bet you'd do that too." Kitty began to walk around the place… not like she'd be coming back here again anytime soon, so she figured she'd get the 'mystery' out of it.

"This place is… well, not as well kept as our bathroom." She said after a while.

"Well what can I say… we're pigs." Pietro smiled devilishly. "I should've brought some flowers in to soften the blow." 

            Kitty simply rolled her eyes. "That's ok Pietro, I'll live. I've seen the boys bathroom at the Institute after they use it."

"Tsk, tsk… that Evan… he's such a messy person."

"You have no idea." She said as she leaned on the wall next to him.

"Oh I think I have a general idea on the guy…one too many sleepovers back in New York." he said as a small smile showed on his face.

"You guys must've been really good friends back there. Why you stop?" Kitty knew, of course, that this was dangerous territory to talk about to either Pietro or Evan. But she had to know. 

            Pietro thought on it for a while, not giving Kitty any sings that he was going to answer. She almost told him to forget it when he suddenly looked at her and shrugged. 

"I have no idea…" was all he said… and yet she felt that was as honest an answer as he was able to give.

            Pietro looked at his watch now and decided they had waited long enough.

"Well, time to go." Pietro looked out into the hall to make sure no one would see Kitty coming out of the boys' bathroom, that would not make their day. 

As they approached the offices they noticed the huge number of people present; teachers on a break, secretaries, students who were brought up for something or other… Pietro sure hoped he wouldn't bump into anyone from the Brotherhood, they were up here often enough. 

"Like, what's your great plan?" Kitty whispered in his ear.

"We need to get into Darkholme's office but she always locks it." 

"Like, you know I can phase us through, but like what about all these people?" 

"That's where _I_ come in, my dear." He said as he began to spin in circles using his powerful speed to create a huge gust of wind. 

            Papers began flying about everywhere, the troublesome students who had been brought in were shouting and screaming for more while some people who were holding small paper cups soon found their hot coffee on their suits and some women who wore skirts let go of all the important papers they were holding when it became apparent that they had better be holding something else. 

            All in all, Pietro was having a blast. 

Using this distraction Kitty moved closer to Mystique's office and once she had reached the door Pietro stopped his spinning and they both ran inside phasing through the wall. They both landed hard on the floor while trying to control a fit of giggles.

"That was so beyond cool!" sighed Pietro as he caught his breath.

"Yeah! It was!… but did you really have to make such a mess?" Kitty wasn't used to pulling these types of pranks yet, but she could still giggle about it.

"Oh come on!… you enjoyed it too!… Wasn't that you're History teacher in there?" said Pietro as he stood up.

"Well… yeah." Smiled Kitty "Ok, fine… but you can't go around pulling this off all the time, you know."

"Understood ma'am! Now… let's take a look at Mystique's little files." Pietro clasped his hands together in pure glee and enjoyment as an evil smile plastered itself on his lips.

***************************************************************

            Being principal of a high school had to be the most annoying job in the world. You had to look after a bunch of evil creatures (called children) that did nothing but make a mess of things. Mystique didn't have the opportunity to raise her own kids, but now that she had to take care of the Brotherhood (and a whole High school) she was sometimes relieved she didn't have to suffer the full blast of motherhood.

~~ Of course, if _I_ had raised them from the start those little delinquents wouldn't have grown up to be this bad. ~~ thought Mystique as she walked the halls of Bayville High in search of troublesome teenagers who thought he/she didn't have to go to class.

            As luck would have it, she found one of her favorite students inside the boys' bathroom. She didn't waste any time and simply stormed in.

"Stupid little punk! I'm so gonna kick his ass! …" Lance stopped looking at the mirror and instead saw his favorite principal.  "… Ok, don't you _ever_ knock?" he said as he returned his gaze to the mirror trying to get the remains of the mashed potatoes out of his hair. 

"You know Mr. Alvers… some students are now in their afternoon classes." She said as she looked over the dark haired senior.

"Well, good for them." Normally he would've kept quiet, but today he was ticked off.

"Care to explain why you aren't with them? And don't give me any smart-ass answers Mr. Alvers because if you were capable of that your grades wouldn't be so low."

"I'm being robbed of an education because of what your '_little_ _precious'_ did to me!" he said as he pointed to his head.

"My _little what_? And why on Earth do you have mashed potatoes in your hair?" she was beginning to think young Alvers was stoned. She wasn't very surprised. 

"Your _little precious Pietro_ decided he was angry at me and threw his lunch at my hair!"

            Mystique took in a deep breath as she prayed for patience,… yet another Maximoff catastrophe.

"Young Pietro is… special. And sometimes he will do things that will makes us want to strangle that precious little neck of his and cut his head off and bang him over and over again with a bat and… *ahem* but we must think twice about such things… yeah. Cause he's still just a child, after all. Uh huh…" evil thoughts lurked inside her head right now.

"Yeah… uh huh…. I,… I just wanted to smack him on the head. But that bat idea seemed good." Lance had to remind Pietro about keeping away from Mystique for a while.

"Well then, you make sure you do something about that when you're back home with the little brat. As for now however, return to your classroom." Darkholme turned around and left the boys' bathroom, but no sooner had she stepped outside that a certain play-god had spotted her. Claudia's face remained expressionless, but by her quirked eyebrow you could very well get the message of 'huh? What the…?' that was being played in her mind over and over again.

"Um… Ms. Darkholme, I needed to talk to you about this Friday… but it can wait if you're busy." 

            Just then Lance came out and at the sight of Claudia he simply opened the door to the boy's bathroom a little wider in a gentlemanly way motioning them to go right in.

"If you wished to talk to Ms. Darkholme, you may do so in her new office! She has been thinking about relocating since she _enjoys_ spending _so_ much time in here anyway!" 

~~ Ok, Pietro's abnormalities are starting to rub off on me. Why didn't I stick with my 'stay quiet until this is all over' plan? ~~ thought Lance as he immediately let go of the door and tried to walk away toward his new class.

"Mr. Alvers!" Mystique was so not amused.

"Yeah?…" ~~ Maybe she'll let me go with a warning… maybe?….~~ Lance was hopeful.

"My office… now!" Darkholme turned and started to walk away.

~~ Damn it! Now, why exactly did I think I'd get off the hook? After all, I'm not Pietro.~~ he had accepted his fate.

"Wow, Alvers… you surprised me! Thanks, you know. You've lighted my whole day." Said Claudia as she walked beside him.

"Yeah well… that was the general idea. 'What should I do to make somber Claudia smile?' Perhaps getting myself into trouble should prove amusing?" Lance kept walking with his hands tucked in his pockets as Claudia gave him a 'look'. ~~ Geez, what I say now? ~~     

"I am not somber!" she said as she crossed her arms.

"Please! If you were a guy you'd remind me of Summers."

 ~~ Now, why did I mention him?~~ he was not going to be talking about Summers on his way to Mystique's office.

"I'm sorry, but I think someone like Summers redefines the word 'somber'. And I happen to be a VERY cheerful person, damn it!"

"Of course! What was I thinking?" Lance winked at her and smiled so she understood he was only kidding. Claudia though turned a light shade of red.

"Um… are you ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine." She answered.

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

"Yes." She answered again.

"Ok…" just then they noticed Mystique had stopped. Now she was simply waiting for another victim to come to her.

~~ And who's the poor zap this time?~~ thought Lance as he looked ahead. 

            Duncan and some cheerleader were busy happily talking away their class time as Darkholme watched from a distance.

~~ What an idiot…. Then again, Mystique also busted me. ~~ 

"So baby, I was thinking we could go over to my car now and I could drive you somewhere a bit more romantic, you know." Said Duncan letting all his charm ooze from him.

"Heeheee… but Duncan, what about school?" asked the ditzy cheerleader as she tried to suppress the fit of giggles from being near the Great Duncan Matthews. 

"School?… heh, listen baby, let me tell you a few things about school… IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOU AND YOU SHOULD NOT MISS IT!!… Hello Principal Darkholme."

"And your excuse Mr. Matthews?" asked Mystique while giving the cocky football player the evil eye.

"I have a pass!" said the cheerleader quickly giving it over to her.

"Fine, you're excused Jenny. Now leave before I change my mind."

            The cheerleader didn't need to be told twice, but just as she was walking past Lance she noticed her friend Claudia was part of the little detention group.

"Oh my God. You were caught doing something bad Claudia! Like, no way!" Jenny felt almost… proud of Claudia.

"No Jenny… I just need to talk to miss Darkholme about something." Pointed the play-god as a matter of fact.

"Oh…" Jenny sounded almost disappointed. "Should've known…"

"Oh God! You're such a great liar! Don't worry Claudia, I wont tell why you were caught." Lance had decided to butt in on this one. It seemed little Miss Somber needed a boost of some kind.

"Wow! Cool Claudia…. Later." And with that new bit of information Jenny was off toward her class. 

"Hey! Wait…. Why did you do that Lance?" again with the arms crossed and the 'look'.

            Lance simply shrugged… he felt rather good about himself right now.

"I swear I had my pass Ms. Darkholme! Maybe it fell off or something, I'm sure we can work something out…"

"To my office Mr. Matthews." And off she went followed by her little trio.

"You're such an idiot Duncan." Whispered Claudia since she just couldn't hold back.

"Shut up Claudia!" said the football player while trying to think of some good excuse. 

            Lance decided to smack Duncan on the head.

"When a lady states a fact you simply nod in agreement Dunc!" 

"Shut up Alvers!"

"Is that all you know how to say?" asked Lance wondering who exactly was being robbed of an education.

"I think it's the too many blows to the head by the football…" suggested Claudia.

"Ms. Darkholme!" cried Duncan.

"Tattletale" whispered both Lance and Claudia.

"If you three are not quiet, I swear to God, you'll be suspended!" shouted Darkholme at her little bunch.

"Yes ma'am…"they all said in unison. 

            The three seniors were quiet for a few moments… but then…

"You're still an idiot Duncan."

"I thought I told you to be quiet Claudia!…. Ow!"

"The lady is still stating a FACT. So don't tell her to shut up."

"Shut up Alvers!"

*****************************************************

"Are you sure this will work Rogue?"

"Trust me Kurt, nothing says: 'Stop picking on the little guy' better then a stink bomb in your locker." Rogue was going to have her way with Duncan. 

So maybe Scott didn't approve of using mutant powers against the annoying football player, he didn't say anything about alternative sources of punishment… besides, Duncan wasn't one of Scott's most favorite people, she was sure he wouldn't _really_ mind.

"It's just that… shouldn't we be doing something more productive to help Todd then simply pulling pranks on Duncan?" Kurt wasn't sure this plan would work.

"This is just phase one sugah!… give me some time." Rogue was busy making the final adjustments to her master prank.

"I'm kind of afraid of phase two…" just then Kurt's ears picked something up, and it was coming from behind Rogue. "Hey, someone's coming."          

"Well distract them. I'm almost done here!" She had finally finished when she suddenly noticed Kurt's eyes grow wide.

"Rogue, we're busted... _SHE_ is behind you." Kurt had neatly placed himself inside the opened locker.

"Oh man… did she see you?" Her first real evil prank and already she wasn't going to be getting away with it.

"Um, I don't think so… she has only seen you."

Rouge sighed accepting her fate. "Well, guess you better go… I'll handle it."

"Are you sure?…" Kurt didn't like the idea of just leaving his friend there.

"Yeah. No sense us both getting busted… get outta here." 

Kurt guessed she was right, after all he could always teleport Rogue out of detention, so in a gentle 'poof' of smoke he was gone.

            Rouge immediately closed the locker and turned toward _HER_.

"And what are we doing here?" Mystique had conflicting emotions toward her once treasured mutant recruit that was now fighting for the other side, but her job as the Principal made her choices very slim.

"I was just getting to class Ms. Darkholme…" Rogue's voice was low and angry, her eyes were narrowed and her entire body language screamed the multiple things she'd really wish she could say to the woman who had betrayed her trust. Nevertheless, she knew that no matter what she said she'd always get sent to her office.

"Join the crew Rogue, one more troublesome student will just make my day." 

"The crew?" Was there supposed to be other people with Mystique?

            At that moment the shape shifter turned around only to notice her merry band of child delinquents were too busy arguing… again, to keep up with her.

"I told you to shut up Alvers!" she heard from the distance.

"Make me, Dunc!" answered her oldest recruit. 

"You're still an idiot you know…" Now this was odd… Mystique didn't recall having busted Claudia for anything… although in her 'detention-happy' mood she might've found her transparent nail polish offensive and made the young girl join the detention crew.

"IF YOU THREE DON'T SHUT UP AND MOVE YOUR ASSES YOU'RE SUSPENDED!" 

~~ How dare they just forget my existence!? ~~

"Is that a promise?" asked Lance as they moved toward her.

"Um, Ma'am… I haven't done anything…" All Claudia wanted was to talk to her Principal… was that so wrong?

As the three teens moved closer they noticed the latest addition to their detention group.

~~ Oh yeah… I'm in for a happy day… ~~ thought Rogue as she looked over the 'detention crew'.

The first person she saw was Lance, she wasn't too surprised to see him there. Then she saw Duncan… and was only glad she had finished the job on his locker before he had a chance to spot her. The last person she had expected to see though was Claudia. That girl was like the 'Jean Grey' of the seniors: responsible and serious; although she was only a bit more sarcastic and, to Rogue's opinion, a lot more fun then Jean. Still, to see the girl in the detention wagon was a bit alarming.

Rogue immediately walked besides Claudia since she wanted as much space between herself and Duncan as possible.

"Hey there Rogue… being naughty I see." Said Lance as he kept going.

"A bit… why you guys here?" she noticed Duncan was giving her dirty looks, apparently he wasn't over the whole 'stepping on his foot with the boot' thing from this morning.

"Darkholme can't take a joke… go figure." Lance answered. "And Claudia here was just being bad!" the dark haired senior smirked as he saw Claudia's cheeks redden.

"Shut up Lance!" the play-god smacked him playfully on his shoulder as her face burned. 

Rogue couldn't help but notice the chumminess in which these two acted and for some reason she began to feel upset about something.

~~ Well, they _are _in the same class… they're supposed to know each other.~~ but Rogue's thoughts weren't cooling her temper… and neither was Duncan's presence.

"You know, you have a lot of nerve to show your face around here after what you did…" Duncan had finally lost his patience.

~~ Yep, definitely not over the whole 'stepping on his foot with the boot' thing… ~~ thought Rogue as both Lance and Claudia exchanged confused looks.


	15. A Lovers Feud part 15

Ok!… here we go! Chapter 15  ^_^

I'll try to post the next one soon…

  A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 15**

"Oh my god, I just can't believe Mystique's got so many beauty salon appointments…" Pietro was looking over his legal guardian's personal agenda and loving every minute of it.

"I know, it's like can't she like morph her hair style?… oh! oh! look at this! It's Darkholme's evaluation of our teachers!" Kitty had converted to the evil side so Pietro felt rather proud of himself.

"Let me see!" he rushed over to her side and started to search for his teachers' names.

"Aha! Mr. Smith… evil 'right before lunch' teacher… sorry, but you're not passing _this_ evaluation." Pietro then began to grade his own teacher.

"You know, it's been a while already… maybe we should just like, do what we came here for." She wasn't exactly looking forward to getting caught.

"Oh, right… well, let's just add another beauty appointment for her Friday schedule. Here Kitty, you write it!" he handed her the agenda and pen.

"WHAT?! Why me!?" she pushed it back.

"Cause you're the girl with the feminine handwriting… Mystique will know for sure if I wrote it." He pushed it again.

"But like, my hand writing is nothing like hers!" she took the agenda and placed it on the desk.

"Well, we could always add something on her computer schedule… and maybe change our grades or something." Pietro was hopeful Kitty would go along with that.

"Good idea! Oh, like the first part of it, not the second." 

"You and your morals…" he winked at her as he searched for Mystique's personal files.

"Perhaps a beauty appointment is a bit dull, we need something that will guarantee she'll be away for a while… oh! I know." Immediately Pietro began to type the words: _'The Boss'_ on for Friday. 

"Like, 'The Boss'? what is that?" Was it some sort of secret Brotherhood code or something like that?!

"Umm, well… Mystique will probably think someone from the Board of Education is coming."

 ~~ Or if she's really paranoid she'll believe Magneto will pay a visit on Friday and she'll be so freaked that she'll completely forget about the play!… yeah, I'm evil.~~ thought Pietro as he began searching for the grades files now.

"Oh… that makes sense." 

~~ Like, Really Kitty… get a clue! 'Secret code or something'? What was I thinking? As if there's some sort of mastermind behind the Brotherhood that is even more powerful then Mystique… get real!~~ Kitty was mentally kicking herself as she waited for Pietro to finish on the computer. 

"Hey, want to check your grades?" he asked wanting to continue with the damage to Mystique's office.

"Like, I already know my grades! Can we just go?" an odd feeling of déjà vu came over her.

"Well, I know I've a perfect score… cause there's no way I'm below that…. Except for that evil grade right before we started the rehearsals that made me start to beat on the lockers. So let's change that one, shall we?" Pietro continued typing.

"We really should be leaving now, you know…"

"What do you think, an A or an A+?" 

"Pietro!"

"Ok, ok… let me just see the guy's files… ooh, Lance had an 68 on a history test, let's change that to an 86. And wont you believe it! Todd really _did_ have an A on that last test! Now let's change those flunking grades from before into a decent high C or low B and done!" Pietro was happily typing away.

~~ They should worship the ground I walk on for this… well, they should do that regardless… ~~ the white haired boy knew he would be getting away with a lot of pranks because of this.

"Ok, since your friends wont be flunking now, can we just go?"

"Daniels definitely doesn't deserve that high grade…"

"Don't you DARE Pietro!" she gave him 'the look'.

"Ah! Ok, ok… stop that! We can go now…" he turned off the computer and headed toward the door. 

He slowly opened it to see if the coast was clear… their escape plan would've been perfect except for one small detail…

"Oh no… Mystique's back!" they quickly closed and locked the door.

"So let's run out of here!" Kitty was near a panic. 

~~ We're going to get caught, I'm going to be known as a criminal and my life will be ruined!~~ Kitty wasn't ready for the life of a runaway.

"I can't do that, she'll know it was me for sure…" Pietro would not admit his master plan had a few holes in it… just a few un-thought of minor details 

~~We're going to get caught, I'm gonna get grounded and my weekend will be ruined!~~ Pietro wasn't ready to accept defeat though…

***************************************************** 

"What in the world happened here!?!" Mystique was furious.

"Sorry Ms. Darkholme… the strangest thing happened. A strong wind came by and flew everything away. We're trying to pick things up as quickly as possible." Her secretary was almost near a heart attack.

"Well that's not quick enough… do it faster! As for you child delinquents, get in my office!" She wanted to run away from the mess her secretary had on her desk and pretend competent people surrounded her as soon as possible.

"All we did was cut class…" said Rogue as she wondered how they allowed demented people to run a school.

"I didn't even do anything!" Claudia was outraged, what would people think of her.

Mystique unlocked her door and rushed inside her office to get away from the nightmare that was out there. She looked around the place and was thankful that whatever mess had occurred out there hadn't affected anything in here. The shape shifter then turned toward the young children she had collected. 

Rogue looked incredibly mad… 

~~ No surprise there… ~~ thought Mystique. 

Claudia was there too… 

~~ Why was she here again? Oh yes, wanted to 'talk' to me about something. ~~ Mystique rolled her eyes at that one. 

But what she found most entertaining was how young Alvers and Mr. Matthews kept giving each other the 'evil eye'. They almost got into a fight in the middle of the hallway for reasons (to her) still unknown (however, the name Rogue was mentioned a few times…) But the whole idea of her Avalanche having some sort of a 'friendship' with one of Xavier's kids… well that was just ridiculous!

"Well Claudia, before I start handing out those much loved and treasured detention slips for these three perhaps you'd like to tell me what was so important." Said Mystique as she sat down on her very expensive executive chair…. Funny, she hadn't placed her agenda there…

            Lance was not a very happy person right now. He couldn't get detention! He had a job to get to! Of course, he could always try to talk sweetly to his legal guardian… but that would never work. He could also simply skip it… but he wasn't looking forward to the endless, pointless missions Mystique would send him on as punishment. 

            The dark haired senior simply waited as his classmate continued to talk about her play. She sounded so excited and giddy… almost as if she were acting on it herself. 

~~ That's weird, Pietro hasn't mentioned a thing about the play. I would've thought he'd be tormenting us with his nonstop babble all this week. ~~ 

As Lance waited he continued to keep himself busy by thinking of the many things he would do to the white haired boy for his stunt during lunch… and he was also curious about this great plan Summers had.

~~ Man! That stupid Summers! Now he decides to come up with half-baked ideas for those two… if I only had the chance I'd throw him and his stupid red shades right out Darkholme's window. Yeah, yeah that's what I'd do! I'd throw him right there next to Pietro and …. Pietro? ~~

"What the hell?…" Lance just couldn't stop himself.

*****************************************************

"Oh god… I think he saw me." Said Pietro as he moved away from the window.

"Like, WHO? Lance or Duncan?!" Kitty had enough trouble keeping her balance, she didn't need to be told they've been spotted.

"Lance… I think. You know Kitty, you should've had a more useful power, like teleporting or levitation. If you did then we wouldn't be stuck here on the ledge of the third floor of our school's main building!" Pietro slowly moved his hand to brush off one of his long white bangs that was being moved by the strong wind.

"Like, you have some nerve! So like, your power was like, you know, totally useful?!? I didn't see _you_ making any escape routes!" Kitty wanted to get far away from her '_wonderful_ boyfriend' right now.

"Yeah, yeah whatever… now we either jump down or wait till everyone leaves the office. Which one you want to do?" the young sophomore wasn't a very patient person.

"As if 'jumping down' was an option… Pietro, are you nuts? I'm like, so not jumping from a third floor!" she wanted to get home today in one piece.

"It's not that bad Kitty… I think we could make it…" 

"Then _you_ jump."

"…. Umm…. Ok, so we wait till they all leave the office … I still think you should've had better powers. "

            Kitty gave him 'the look'. 

"Would you stop looking at me like that, please?!"

******************************************************* 

"Mr. Alvers…. Is there something you'd like to say?" Mystique had no idea what had gotten into her oldest recruit. 

~~ Perhaps young Maximoff really is on drugs and had decided to share with his teammates… that's exactly what I need, a happy drug to spread around the Brotherhood.~~

"Umm?… oh! Nothing, nothing…. Sorry about that." Lance's face had flushed a little as he acknowledged his outburst.

"So… anyway Ms. Darkholme… the play will be truly fantastic and I can't wait for Friday. I just need you to come by today's rehearsal so you may choose the best place for the judges table." Claudia was all smiles and sweetness.

"Right… right…. I'm afraid I wont be able to make it today Claudia… and I believe the Vice Principal will be the one attending to the play on Friday." Someone as busy as Mystique surely had more important things to do then attend to each and every after-school activity. 

"But Ms. Darkholme…." How could she do this to Claudia!?

*******************************************************

"Alright! This is better then I thought! Did you hear that Kitty?" Pietro's plan was working!… well, not because of anything he did on Mystique's computer, but the important thing was she wasn't showing up on Friday!

"I'm not talking to you." Kitty was still angry.

Pietro sighed as he realized he had to patch things up.

~~ Honestly… I say one thing she doesn't like and suddenly it's the silence treatment. ~~

"Kitty?…. sweetie… I already said I'm sorry." Imagine! Pietro Maximoff… apologizing! 

"Well, I still haven't like, forgiven you!" she would've crossed her arms to accentuate her mood, but she thought it wiser to be holding the building since the ledge wasn't exactly a very safe place to hang around.

"Well,… I just wanted you to know that Mystique isn't coming on Friday, so we're saved on that one." Pietro turned toward the window trying to get close without getting spotted.

"Well I don't care and … she isn't? Oh! Like, totally cool!" if she was going to be stuck out there she might as well know they were saved from Darkholme.

"Like, what else is going on? Why is Rogue there?" Kitty moved closer to Pietro to see if she could take a look.

"I don't know yet, but knowing Mystique she was probably just bored." The white haired boy was dying to know though what had gotten Lance in trouble, he'd be bothering him about it for weeks.

********************************************************* 

"But all the students have been working so hard and we have a very talented cast for this play!" Claudia needed Darkholme to attend on Friday… she was the scariest Principal around! Everyone else would be too scared of her to give them a bad evaluation.

"I'm afraid I'm a little busy Claudia, the Vice-principal will do just fine." Mystique wanted to get on with her wonderful detention slips.

"You really should see how good Pryde is, she's surprised us all for a freshman." The play-god needed her evil Principal to extract fear from the judges.

~~ Pryde?…. Now, that name sounds familiar… where have I heard that before? ~~ thought Mystique as Claudia kept babbling.

Rogue didn't like this… surely Kitty didn't wish Mystique to show up. She looked up and was rather surprised to find Lance's worried brown eyes meeting her own. In an instant of, what could only be called, "telepathic" communication they both knew what the other one was thinking and they also knew what they had to do.

"…and Maximoff is such a hit with all the girls and the set is simply wonderful." Claudia stopped when she felt a soft-gloved hand rest on her shoulders. 

"Now, now Claudia… Ms. Darkholme is just too busy to come for a silly play. You have to understand that." Rogue was trying to lead the 'play-god' toward the door, but Claudia would have nothing of it.

"But I _need _Darkholme there!" Claudia moved close enough to whisper in Rogue's ear. "Who do you think will intimidate the judges!?!"

"Did you say…. Maximoff?" Mystique's eyes narrowed, why hadn't she been informed of her charges activities? Surely she didn't concern herself with every single thing the Brotherhood did on their free time… but, as she had earlier told Lance, young Maximoff was 'special'. 

"You know Ms. Darkholme, Duncan over here hasn't been behaving at all!" Lance was trying to make a distraction.

"What are you talking about Alvers!?!" Duncan's brown eyes held an immense dislike for the other senior. 

~~ Why is he butting into everything I do today?! It was none of his business if I had a score to settle with that Goth chick and now this! … Someone is going to get a very nasty surprise. ~~ Duncan's list of future victims was growing today.

"Duncan went to the boys locker room and wrote: 'If you wanna have a good time, call Darkholme at 555-6985'… I swear he did." Lance was trying to look all innocent.

"I DID NOT! Take that back Alvers!"  

"You _have _been getting some weird messages on your machine recently, haven't you?" In all honesty, it had been Pietro and Todd who had prank-called Mystique like a 1000 times when they were bored, but Lance wasn't going to say that.

"Really Mr. Alvers… and I suppose you had nothing to do with this incident in the boys bathroom?" the shape shifter had been looking for whoever thought that calling her every five minutes was fun.

"I was an innocent bystander." Which was true anyway, although he did laugh his head off along with Freddy.

"He's lying Ms. Darkholme! I swear it wasn't me!" Duncan wasn't having a very good day.

"Well Mr. Matthews, I guess I'll be seeing a lot more of you after school. Now get out before I decide to call your parents!" Mystique watched as Duncan left her office with a grim look on his face. As he walked out he managed to go between Rogue and Claudia and casually shoved the young mutant aside.

"Hey! Watch it you jerk!" the brown haired girl crossed her arms and stared daggers at the jock.

"I'll be seeing you later." He said as he finally left the office.

"Yeah, bet on it…" Rogue was going to take care of that annoying football player if it was the last thing she did.

"As for you Claudia…" said Mystique, capturing everyone's attention once again. "Maybe I will be coming to this play on Friday. It sounds… promising." 

"Oh great!" Claudia was so happy. "You're going to love it Ms. Darkholme, I guarantee it!" 

"Yes, I'm sure. Now leave before I change my mind."

            After the now happy Claudia left an eerie silence fell on the last two remaining young mutants, surely their time to die had come at last.

~~ Oh good GOD! Since when am I so dramatic!?! ~~ thought Lance as he mentally kicked himself. What's the worse he could get from Mystique anyway…

***************************************************

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Pietro would've screamed out of pure frustration but he guessed whispered curses would have to do.

"Ok… like, that's not good. Why does Claudia like, want Mystique to show up so bad?" Kitty, although also a bit frustrated, wasn't going to start throwing a tantrum. 

"She wants to intimidate the judges with Mystique! I don't know about you, but I feel insulted! What?! Doesn't she trust our awesome acting abilities!?!" 

"Yeah like, now I _am_ insulted!" she hadn't thought of it that way.

"We have to get out of here! I'm going crazy and I have to find Claudia and kill her!"

"… Umh… Pietro, killing her wont solve anything… but we do need to get down from here." The young freshman was trying very hard to find some way down from their current position that didn't involve breaking their necks.

"Like, I know!" she closed her eyes and started to focus on the only one of her friends that could possibly hear her at this moment.

~~ Jean... JEAN! Like, listen to me, ok? I like totally need you. ~~

***********************************************

"The answer would be 3,564." She answered sweetly while showing off her shinning emerald eyes and her astounding red hair.

"Very good Miss Grey." ~~My, what a perfect student! It was because of young ladies like her that teaching had become my calling. ~~ thought Jean's math teacher as he continued with his class.

"So if we all look at our books on page 342 we will see that our next problem is rather complicated but still manageable. We must multiply the 78 times the amount of time that's stated in the problem, this will give us the answer to the first part. Does anyone have the answer to that one?"

~~ Jean, like ….. JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!!! ~~

"AAH! GOOD GOD, BE QUIET!!!! ……………." Jean's hands flew to her hears as she tried to block out the high-pitched sound of Kitty's scream. Unfortunately her hands wouldn't do any good since the scream had been directed at her mind, and even worse, she was the only one who heard it.

"Miss Grey, perhaps you should go see the Principal right now." The teacher's narrowed eyes were enough for Jean not to push it.

"I'm so sorry professor." She said as she walked out the door, her face red with embarrassment. 

~~ Kitty, are you all right? Are you being attacked? It's the Brotherhood, isn't it?! Tell me where you are and I'll bring help! ~~ Jean only hoped she wasn't too late.

~~ Oh, like Jean! You heard me, good. Everything's like fine, you know. I just have this tiny problem and I was wondering if you could make Mystique like, leave her office for a little while? I'll explain everything later, ok? ~~ Kitty hoped her friend would help her.

~~ ………….. so, you're all right…… there's no attack? ~~ Jean couldn't believe this.

~~ Umh, yeah, everything's fine…. Oh and Pietro says hi. ~~

~~ I've just been sent to the Principals office over a false alarm!??!!? ~~

~~ Really? Like, that's even better! That's just where I need you to go. Just get rid of Mystique for a while, ok? Thanks! Bye! ~~ and just as quick, Kitty was out from her mind.

"I can't believe this is happening to me! She better do my house chores for a month for what I'm doing!" Jean had never been sent to the Principals! What would the Professor say?!

"And what exactly _are_ you doing?" came the unexpected sweet germen accent as the young mutant teleported in front of the red head.

"Kurt! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in class." 

"Oh, um… skipping. Don't tell Scott!" Kurt pouted to win her over; he knew he'd never hear the end of it from their team leader.

"Oh fine… just don't do this often. Now I have to go to the office since Kitty got me into trouble." Jean turned around making her long red hair move gracefully from side to side.

"Mind if I join you, I'm kind of bored." And also curious as to how all this came to happen.

"Fine." Jean didn't stop or turn but simply kept going her way. She was after all a bit angry.

*****************************************************

The rainy day went on and the wind kept blowing regardless of anyone, nevertheless a young boy was sitting on a tree branch over looking the school landscape. He knew he would catch a cold if he stayed there for too long… yet he didn't feel like getting down.

~~ I'll just stay here the rest of the day… not like I'm missing anything important. Although Lance _will_ kick my ass if he knew I was skipping… again. But he has to understand yo! It's not easy being a tad smaller in size then those jocks… well, maybe a bit more then just a tad… but that's not the point yo! ~~ 

After Pietro had left in a mad rush over the whole 'mashed potato incident', Lance had locked himself up in the boys' bathroom and Freddy had gone off to his afternoon classes, Todd suddenly found himself all alone. After his encounters with Duncan he just didn't feel safe like that so he decided to skip for a while. No way Duncan would find him on his favorite hiding spot.

~~ I'm such a genius yo! Hiding on the top of the trees, no one looks up here. ~~

            Todd had been keeping himself busy by jumping from tree to tree for a while, he would've continued if he hadn't seen  what he thought he saw.

~~ That's not Pietro, is it? ……. Oh god, it is. ~~ the amphibian freshman jumped to the nearest tree he could find from where his (very trouble making) friend was apparently trapped.

"So this is where you need to hide so Lance doesn't find you?" Todd laughed a little at the expressions of surprise and shock that came over Pietro's and Kitty's faces. 

"I can't believe you're skipping!!" said Pietro still surprised to see his friend.

"I can't believe you're too!" mocked Todd.

"Hey Todd, can you like, get us down from here, you know?" Kitty would take any help she could get.

"That's a little hard yo. I mean, I can jump there and back again, but that's cause I'm Todd the Great. You two will probably fall and break your necks." He said as he jumped to the ledge to join his friends.

"Wow, you're so endlessly wise Todd the Great… anything constructive you _can_ do for us then?!" Pietro had crossed his arms and was now impatiently waiting for Todd's great answer.

"Why don't you phase through the wall?… Hey, is that Lance in there with Mystique?" Todd briefly wondered what Lance had done to be in there? After all, he had behaved himself lately.

"Why do you think genius!? Make Mystique go out of her office and we'll do just that!"

Pietro needed to get out of that ledge! He was starting to go mad!

"How am I supposed to do that yo?!? I'm Todd the Great, not Todd the Amazing Mind-Controller." 

***************************************************************

"Are you crazy!?!? What if we get caught?" Kurt didn't want to do this, he just didn't!

"Everything's alright Kurt, don't worry. Kitty needs Mystique out of her office so I'm guessing she's in some sort of trouble. Now remember, wait until she walks out for you to teleport."

            After that Jean began to use her powers to levitate objects around the office. Papers were flying everywhere as the paperweights were also seen floating about. The different reactions from the students and teachers who were witnessing this ranged from shocked to scared and some even to the point of unconsciousness. 

            As all chaos broke loose on top of her tiny desk, Darkholme's secretary began to panic and decided to call on her boss so she could deal with the ghosts that haunted her and her working space.

****************************************************** 

"I hope you understand that for cutting class and showing disrespect toward your Principal you will be severally punished. And Rouge, don't think the _good Professor_ will bail you out of this one. I'll make sure you kids learn your lesson." 

            Mystique kept on talking as Lance and Rogue looked at each other and simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"Does she mean the lessons we'll be missing from school because of her?" Rogue whispered to Lance, careful not to let Mystique catch her.

"I guess, personally I _still_ feel we're being cheated out of our important education." He whispered back trying to sound serious and concerned. This only made Rogue begin to giggle.

"Oh god, you sounded just like Scott!"

"I did not!" Lance felt insulted.

"Are you two talking while _I'm_ talking to you?" such disrespect toward their principal.

Suddenly the door was opened and through it came a very frantic secretary. Her hair was a mess and her chest was heaving up and down, when she turned the three mutants saw the woman's face was pale and her eyes wide.

"Ms. Darkholme…. Umh… we have some problems… out in the office." She said in a low voice. "We… we need you out there."

            Her secretary's almost dead tone of voice, her pale face and the calmness that usually followed a shock were scaring Mystique and she simply followed the alarmed woman to the door.

"Um… well, you two stay here, I'll be back shortly." Mystique had no idea what was wrong but she knew that screaming at her secretary in her current state wasn't wise. 

            After Darkholme left Lance and Rogue simply looked at each other. They were relieved they didn't have to listen to Mystique's speech about their lack of respect; they both had heard it before from many different people on many different occasions.

            Now Lance realized it was the perfect opportunity to check if he was indeed seeing things or if it really had been the white haired brat who was hanging outside. Rogue was staring at him as he moved forward to unlock the window.

"What are you doing?" she asked as Lance opened it.

"You'll see…" he answered as he stock his head outside and came face to face with non other then … Todd?

"AAAHH!!" he screamed as he grabbed onto Pietro, who then had to grab onto Kitty so they didn't fall.

"What are _you _doing here?!" Lance pushed them against the wall and Kitty phased them through.

            Just as Pietro, Kitty and Todd came into the office, Jean and Kurt teleported inside as well. Now the seven mutants were staring at each other wondering why each of them had somehow ended up inside Mystique's office.

"Well, what a happy reunion this is…" said Rogue as she sat down on one of the very uncomfortable chairs.

"Kitty, what were you guys doing out there? You could've gotten hurt!" Jean walked over to the young freshman in a protective manner.

"I was like, alright, you know." Kitty tried to brush Jean's worries off.

"Let me guess Pietro, new make-out place?" Lance now had his arms crossed as he waited for an answer.

"Our make-out spots are none of your business!" Pietro stuck out his tongue at the older mutant.

"Like, we do not even _have_ a make-out spot!" Kitty just wanted to make that point clear.

"Todd, why are _you_ here? Shouldn't you be in class?" Lance had now turned his attention to his youngest charge.

"I was yo! I… I just asked for a pass to go to the bathroom and suddenly I saw those two." It was the best Todd could come up with.

"Oh, so now you're savage man. Going to the tree tops to use the bathroom, are we?" Pietro began to play with Todd's dark blonde hair.

"Hey! Cut that out yo!" he tried to push the sophomore but that was nearly impossible. 

"Rouge, why are you here?" As the oldest X-men in the room, Jean felt she had to know what happened to each of them.

"None of your business, Jean." Rogue crossed her legs and arms as she bowed her head down but kept her eyes focused on the red head. 

~~ Man, she'd look so cute if she pouted right now… What am I thinking?!?!~~ Lance started to smack his forehead against the palm of his hand.

"I was just curious Rogue… if you really are in trouble I could always help you." Jean put on one of her most winning smiles.

"I don't want any help from you!" Rouge's statement made Jean's smile fade. "Why are _you_ here then, little _Miss Perfect_?"

"Well I,…. I got sent here by my math teacher." Jean admitted in shame.

"Oh god, like why did he like, do that?" Kitty felt so bad for her friend right now.

"Because of **_you_** actually!" Jean was upset now. "You ruined my perfect record!"

"What?!? Like, how I do that?" Kitty placed her hands on her hips demanding an explanation.

"Ah! Isn't little Todd cuuuuuute!" Pietro moved fast as he pinched Todd's cheeks.

"Ow! Quit it yo! Lance! Tell him to stop!"

"Waah! Waah!… Lance! Tell him to stop!" mocked Pietro.

"Oh, you're so gonna get it yo!" Todd began to shoot his tongue out trying to catch the annoying speedster.

"You can't catch me!" the white haired boy began to run around the room.

"I'm like sorry, you know, but how was I supposed to know you were in the middle of math class?!" 

"That's not the point Kitty. You didn't have to send me such a loud mental message!" 

"I didn't know it was loud!" Kitty was now whining.

"Man Kitty… you're so cool! You got Jean in trouble!" Rouge was having fun though.

"I'm not in trouble! It was a misunderstanding!" Jean would not have anything damage her record.

"The Professor is gonna lynch ya!" Rouge was smiling happily as she balanced herself on the wooden chair. 

            Jean was the oldest girl in the room, surely she knew better… but in her traumatized state of mind she did the first thing she felt like doing. Using her powers she moved Rouge's chair away from her causing the southern girl to land very unlady like on the floor.

"Oh that's it! You're so gonna get it Red!" she said as she took off one of her gloves.

"Hey guys…. Guys! You're not like, going to fight, are you? It's not that big a deal right?!…. GUYS!" Kitty moved to the side since she didn't wish to be in the middle of this argument.

            Todd had thrown some green slime on the floor and as Pietro kept running around the room he eventually landed on the sticky pile of goo.

"Eeeeeww! This is so gross! Todd, I'm gonna kill you if this junk doesn't get off my shoes!… Ouch!" A projectile made out of paper had hit Pietro.

            Todd meanwhile had taken a pile of important documents from Mystique's desk and had started to crush them into tiny balls in order to hit his housemate.

"Don't you ever pinch my cheek again yo!" he threw another one.

"Cut that out! Lance! Tell him to stop!"

"Waah, waah… Laaaaaaaaance….. make evil Todd stop hurting me!" mocked Todd.

"I know where you live, … since I live there too! … And I'm gonna go into your room at night and I'm gonna do such evil things that I swear not even Freddy will….. not even _Lance_ will recognize you!"

"I'm scared yo…" Todd kept throwing paper balls.

"Lance?…" Kurt was afraid of the mayhem that had suddenly erupted inside the tiny room and he was trying to get the attention of the oldest, as so far, the calmest of them all. "Lance! Um… I think we need to stop them from killing each other… Lance?"

~~ Why on Earth do I keep thinking about Rouge so much?!?!? ~~ Lance would've kept thinking about the brown haired girl if a paper ball hadn't suddenly hit him.

"What the…? What's going on here!?!?!"

"He started it!" yelled both Todd and Pietro at the same time.

            The youngest Brotherhood member continued his onslaught as Pietro kept shielding himself from the annoying paper balls. 

Unfortunately for Todd the stickiness of his goo was wearing off and the white haired boy managed to pry his foot loose. However, one of the paper projectiles, which was intended for Pietro, suddenly found its way toward Jean's head.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing?!" the red head now turned and was starring daggers at the young freshman.

"Oh… sorry 'bout that." Not that he didn't enjoy it either way.

"Way to go Todd! You're in my book of heroes now." Rogue smiled at her former team member, which had the effect of making Todd's pale face, turn a light shade of red.

"Hey Todd, are you alright?" Kurt had noticed the boy's facial expressions.

"I'm fine yo… I.. I was only… OUCH!" Todd already knew who hit him. "Why you do that yo?!"

"Why did I do that?… Why did I do that!?!? As if you need an answer!" Pietro would not be the last one hit. 

"GUYS!… look at this mess!" Lance have had enough. "Mystique's coming back soon you know!"

"Like, where did all these paper balls come from anyway?… Oh uh…" Kitty stared at what used to be a very organized desk.

"Todd, you didn't use Mystique's papers, did you?" Jean already knew the answer though.

"Oh man… you are in so much trouble my friend…." Kurt was only glad he wasn't a part of the whole mess.

"You're so irresponsible Todd… honestly, no dessert for you!" Pietro had his arms crossed trying to look like a father figure.

"Shut up Pietro!" Todd was being a very disobedient son.

            Meanwhile Lance was calmly rubbing the sides of his head.

~~ This is not my life… this is not my life… ~~ he thought over and over as he felt a headache coming. It suddenly faded away as his ears picked up a sweet southern accent. 

"Hey Lance… are you alright?" the brown haired girl was now standing right next to him with a concerned look on her face.

"Uh… yeah, YEAH! I'm fine…" it was strange having Rouge so close to him, yet nice at the same time.

            A moment of blissful silence had come over the room. Lance saw nothing other then the young girl standing next to him, he felt nothing other then complete confusion if he should still be angry with her for leaving him or if he should be happy that she still cared. But this moment was soon shattered as he felt a paper ball land on his head.

He didn't say anything, his only movement came from his eyes as they traveled from the brown haired girl toward a white haired pest.

"I DIDN'T DO IT!" Pietro shouted as raised his hands defensively. "Why do you always think everything that goes wrong is somehow my fault?!"

"Experience, maybe…" said Kurt while showing a playful smile.

"I'm not talking to you, blue boy… Besides, we all saw Todd throwing that ball! Didn't we!?" 

"I didn't see anything…" Kurt was simply not getting involved

"I'm not playing these games Maximoff… now, what are we going to do about this mess?" Jean was not going to act like a child and start pointing fingers.

"Kitty, you saw him throw it, didn't you?" only his girlfriend could save him now.

"Um, like… I was busy picking up the mess… but I'm like totally sure you didn't throw it Pietro." Kitty hadn't been paying attention at all.

"Gee, thanks Kitty… come on Todd! Tell him you threw it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about… I was standing here minding my own business…"

"LIAR!!" 

"OK! That's it! I don't care who threw it… but we all have to pick this mess up." Lance began to help Kitty pick up the mess and soon the others joined in. 

            Jean, using her mental powers, made the remaining chaos of papers fly up and land on top of Mystique's desk. That office had certainly seen better days.

******************************************************

~~ What have I ever done to deserve this?… ~~ thought an extremely tired Mystique as she made her way toward her office. The thought of now having to deal with her oldest recruit and the ex-Brotherhood member was enough to give her a headache.

~~ I just want to finish with this unholy day and go home…~~ 

            As she approached the door that leads to her office she kept hearing these strange noises. Something was going on inside and she was going to find out who was responsible. She turned the knob and was now starting to set foot on the carpeted floor when suddenly the door was roughly shut on her face.

"What in the world?!!?" she began to pound and kick at her door. "How dare you little monsters lock me out of my office!"

*************************************************

"Good god Kurt! What's wrong with you?!" Todd & Rouge were staring at the blue X-men as he kept the door shut by leaning his body weight against it.

"Don't you think Mystique will be even angrier now that you aren't letting her go into her office?" Rouge looked at her team member with a disapproving stare.

"Hey! I panicked!… It was the only thing I could think of."  Since Kurt hadn't really been thinking.

"Alright… so the only ones that should be here are Rouge, Jean and myself, right?…" Lance looked around the room to make sure he had everyone's attention. "So the rest of you better find a way to get out of here. Now!"

**************************************************

"You bunch of ungrateful brats! I will destroy you! I will crush you and then I'll be happy again!…"

"Um… Ms. Darkholme?… Ma'am, you're scaring the other children, not to mention the faculty." Her secretary seriously needed to be paid better for this job.

"Oh… of course. I will just have to kill them silently…" why didn't she think of that solution before?

            Suddenly the pressure that had been applied against the door was gone. As Mystique slowly opened her door she braced herself against the chaos she had expected to see. Instead she found Lance and Rouge quietly sitting down the same way she'd left them… except for one additional member.

"Ms. Grey?… what are you doing here?" Darkholme kept looking all around her office expecting the worst. "And why on Earth is that window opened?"

***************************************************

"Ouch! Quit stepping on my foot yo!" Todd was having a hard enough time standing on that ledge, he didn't need people stepping on him as well.

"Sorry about that… but someone is crushing my tail!" Kurt also found it very uncomfortable.

"Like, we are so going to fall this time! Pietro, what are we going to do?!" Kitty hung onto the poor white haired boy for dear life as she tried her best not to look down.

"Well here's a thought… you'll forgive me if it sounds stupid or something but… can't blue boy teleport us down?" Pietro waited for the realization to dawn on the rest of them.

"Oh yeah… I forgot I could do that… ouch! Now someone is pulling my tail!" Kurt complained as he pulled his tail free from any further harassment.

            Soon the four mutants were gone from, the now very hated ledge, in a gentle cloud of smoke while Lance, Rouge and Jean were left behind to suffer the wrath of…

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY PAPERS?!?!?!?!?!?!"  … a very angry Principal.

****************************************************

            The rain had subsided throughout the day but the dark clouds still remained, threatening to bring more showers down upon the unlucky students who had forgotten to bring their umbrellas. Fortunately for most of them, school had already been proclaimed finished for the day as the echoes of the last bell still rang inside the hallways.

            Hundreds of noisy students filled the parking lots as they all had the same thing on their minds… to get away from that building as soon as possible. 

And with these same ideas inside their heads, two young mutants were patiently waiting for the owner of the car that was meant to take them home.

"Hey… when's Lance supposed to get here again?" asked Freddy as he continued pacing around in circles.

"Freddy, would you stop doing that? You're driving me crazy… Besides, Lance should be here any minute…. I think." Todd still had his hair and clothes wet after his little adventure trying to get Pietro and Kitty away from Mystique's office. It seemed Kurt had the brilliant idea to teleport them right into the middle of the pool. 

"Man, if Lance doesn't get back soon, I'm gonna freeze to death out here!" He knew he should've stayed home today…

*****************************************

"LANCE! I said I was sorry already! Now really, come on!      I have to go! You have no idea what type of psycho Claudia turns into if I'm late for rehearsal." Pietro was now being dragged by a very stubborn Lance to goodness knew where… the white haired boy had already apologized for the mashed potatoes, the life-time of detention he had caused other people and for the huge mess of papers on Mystique's desk (even though those had been Todd's fault, not his). 

However, all this wasn't enough for Lance apparently and now the young speed demon feared for his life as the older (and stronger) boy continued to pull on his arm.

"Honestly Pietro, you can be such a baby! I just need you to come with me for a little while… it's the least you could do, you know."

"Actually, the _least_ I could do is _not_ go with you since that would require the _least _amount of work…" this only earned him an evil stare. "Ok fine…"

After what seemed like forever for someone like Pietro, he noticed they had arrived at the back of the school building. There wasn't a soul in sight around the place and the cold and humid weather didn't help him feel comfortable. 

~~ Lance could kill me right now and Todd would only be able to find me by the smell of my corpse… well now there's a lovely thought… ~~ Pietro eyed the older mutant wearily.

~~ _'Back of the building after school'_ he said… he chooses the time and place and… he's not here! I'm going to shake the ground under his feet so hard that he'll… ~~ his thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he heard his name being called.

"Lance?….yeah, I have to get going… was there anything you wanted to show me in here?" Pietro felt safe since he was far away enough for him to make a run for it should the other mutant try anything.

"… You stay right here… I'll be right back." And with that Lance walked away leaving a very confused sophomore behind.

"HEY! What part of _'I'm late for rehearsals'_ didn't you understand!?" how dare he just leave him all alone in this dark, gloomy place… he wasn't scared though… 

Any normal day Pietro would've just left and gone back to do his things, but seeing as how he had gotten Lance into so much trouble that day he decided not to risk it and stayed put as he'd been told.

~~ But I'll only give him 5 minutes!… FIVE! And then that's it! ~~ the white haired boy leaned against the wall waiting.

After 35 seconds…

"I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!….." Pietro was about to loose his mind. Surely whatever Lance wanted to do could wait until they were both back home. 

All he wanted was to turn around as run as fast as he could, but just as he was about to move he felt something grabbing his arm with such force that it frighten him.

"AAAAAHHHH!" he screamed before he could stop himself.

"God! Pietro, honestly! You'd think I was going to kill you…" came the sweet voice of the girl who was now beside him.

"Mallory? … Hey…. Haven't heard from you in a while… so, how are you?" the white haired boy was trying to calm himself down. Frighten by a little girl… if Lance had been here he'd never hear the end of it.

Meanwhile, Mallory was paying close attention to every detail that was Pietro. His baby blue eyes, as he looked anywhere except her own green ones. His fast breathing, almost as if he was made nervous by her presence.

~~ He's such a sweetie! ~~ she thought as she held on tighter to his arm.

"I'm fine Pietro… definitely better then when I hurt my leg." She said as her head rested on top of his shoulder. 

"Well… that's nice…" he said as his eyes wandered around looking for any excuse to leave that place. He soon realized how soft Mallory's long, red curls were against the exposed skin of his neck. 

At any other moment that might've been a very nice way to start his after school activities… but things had changed. This was definitely not the position a guy with a girlfriend was supposed to be found in unless it was with said girlfriend. 

"Um Mallory… I have to go. I'm late for rehearsals…" he tried to detached his arm from the very strong grip.

"Oh yeah… that play. How are things going with that? After my accident Claudia had to go for the understudy… such a shame really… I hope that little freshman didn't give you such a hard time." She tighten her grip.

"Actually, you'd be surprised at what a great actress that _'little freshman'_ turned out to be." He said through gritted teeth trying not to loose his temper with the girl.

"You know… if you want, we could go somewhere else. I mean, I'm sure you know all your lines so missing one little rehearsal isn't going to hurt anybody." Mallory was blinking her cute emerald eyes as her face began to inch closer and closer to the young boy.

"Umm…. That's ok Mal… I really should be going." He wouldn't be able to get his arm back unless he practically pushed the girl to the ground… he wouldn't do that, of course. Besides, knowing her she'd probably just grab his leg.

"Wow Pietro… you're so good at playing hard to get. What can I do to change your mind?" Her voice was so close to his ear that it began to give him Goosebumps. He realized he had to be a little more serious with her if he was ever going to get out.

"Mal… you probably don't know this, but I have a girlfriend now… so I can't just be here like this… with you… and… oh please don't cry…."

            Mallory had loosened her grip and was now with her head down staring at her shoes. Pietro would've gladly fled the scene… but he couldn't just leave the poor girl close to tears.

"I'm not crying… but I have to say, I'm terribly disappointed. Is there anything I can do to change your mind?" she asked keeping her head bowed.

"No Mal… I'm sorry. But hey! There are lots of guys out there who would die to be with you! Why, I'm sure Duncan would follow you around like a puppy if you gave him a chance." He had to try at least…

"Duncan already does that and I treat him like dirt…" 

"Well there you go! The perfect couple!" he began to inch away from the red head when suddenly she said:

"You leave me no choice…" Her eyes were narrowed and her sweet smile was gone.

"What?" that creepy feeling washed over him once more as he imagined Mallory holding a pointy knife.

            However, what she did would cause him more concern that a pointy knife would ever do. At a speed that even blinded Quicksilver, Mallory threw her arms around Pietro's neck and soon he felt the unmistakable feeling of her lips against his.

            He didn't move, instead he closed his eyes and waited for his brain to function before anything else. 

~~ Oh my God… *flash* If anyone came right now… *flash* how would I explain this? *flash* Would they believe me? *flash* Of course not…. *flash* Would they tell Kitty? *Flash* Of course yes… *flash* AND WHAT THE HECK IS THAT FLASH I KEEP SEEING?!?!?!?! ~~

            Pietro opened his eyes and soon found the worst combination of people he could ever not hope for; Mallory in his uninvited arms and Evan… 

…with a camera….. 

…a camera… 

***************************************************

Notes from Alex:

Tee-hee! =^_^=   (-- yeah… that's all I wanted to say…) 


	16. A Lovers Feud part 16

Ok, here you go!

Hope you all enjoy! ^_^

  A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 16**

~~ Oh god… a camera! ~~ he thought as he pushed Mallory away from him.

"Well Pietro… you sure get around." Said Evan has he took one more picture.

"Give me that Daniels…" getting the camera wasn't a problem; after all he could run circles around the entire school in a heartbeat. The problem was he was angry. The only person in this world he would never trust again held the most horrible blackmail imaginable to end his relationship with the only person in this world he actually cared about.

"Give me one good reason why Kitty shouldn't see these pictures." Evan was swinging the camera, daring him to take it… Pietro began to see red… then suddenly he saw… the ground.

            With a loud 'THUD' Pietro went face first into the floor as he felt someone tackle him from behind. When he turned he realized it had been Summers who had taken him down.

~~ Such cheaters! Ganging up on me! ~~ Pietro began to struggle.

"Stop moving or you'll hurt yourself." said Scott as he still held the boy down.

~~ Why does he care if I'm hurt?! … I'm so going to kill that visually impaired jerk ~~ Pietro continued struggling until he heard a voice he would never admit he was glad to hear.

"HEY! GET OFF OF HIM SUMMERS!" and with that the ground began to shake.

            Scott moved allowing Pietro to speed away and stand next to Lance. His blue eyes began to search around everywhere but he couldn't find either Evan or Mallory anywhere.

"You've got some nerve Summers!" Lance began to take slow measured steps toward the other mutant. He knew they had something planned for his younger friend but he had never imagined they would actually hurt him.

"Relax Alvers. He's not hurt, I made sure of that." Scott had to pin the white haired boy down in order to give Evan a chance to get away.

"What sort of crazy devils are running through your mind? I swear, when I'm finished with you you'll be…" Lance didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as Pietro began to pull his arm rather forcefully.

"ForgetabouthimLance,weneedtofindDaniels!" said the sophomore with wide pleading eyes.

"What?" he hated when Pietro got like this, he never understood a single word he said.

"WeneedtofindDaniels! Ineedthatcamera!" Kitty couldn't see those pictures!

"…. What?…" Lance held Pietro's hands in order to stop the pulling of his arm but he couldn't stop the look of nervousness on his friend's face.

            Pietro took a deep breath and tried yet again to explain what needed to be done.

"Daniels has a camera and I need it back! So Forget about Summers… Freddy can kill him later. We need to get that camera before… before he gets those pictures developed!"

~~ How very original Summers… all those hours of thinking and all you could come up with is simple blackmail?… I'm very disappointed… ~~ thought Lance as he turned to look at the X-men senior, but he suddenly noticed he had disappeared.

"Alright Pietro, don't worry… I'll take care of everything…" Lance needed a calm Pietro right now.

"But you don't understand! I…" he wasn't allowed to finish as Lance placed his bigger hand on top of his mouth.

"I said I'd take care of everything. Now let's go find Todd and Freddy, they must be worried." 

            And with that both mutants left toward the parking lot, but neither of them felt extremely happy at the moment.

*******************************************************

            Todd Tolensky was safely locked inside his messy room. He was grateful for the few moments of quiet he got as he looked at his reflection from the small mirror on his dresser. He thought back on all that had happened to him that day… it sure seemed like a lot.

            He had to admit that while some of his day had been fun; like narrowly escaping from Mystique's office alive; the rest of his day hadn't been very productive, specially his little run-ins with the talented Mr. Matthews.

However, there was one thing that made his day worthwhile… short mental images of the feisty southern girl kept coming into his head; her short brown hair, her sharp eyes, her pretty smile… Since when had he become such a Rogue fanatic?!?

~~ Since the first moment I ever saw her… ~~ he thought as he rested on his bed while looking at the ceiling. Of course he had always thought she was kind of cute… but he had tried to think as little as possible about that, especially after she changed sides.

            However, the recent changes in dating patterns that had occurred inside the Brotherhood seemed to have re-opened his interest on the southern girl.

~~ If Pietro can date little miss Kitty then surely Lance couldn't say anything about Rogue. ~~

Then again, Pietro always got away with everything. That was no surprise. But right now he didn't want to think about how unfair things always seemed to be for him. He wanted to dream that he was happy; that Rogue was at his side and that nothing else mattered in this world. 

He would've pulled it off too, if it hadn't been for that infernal racket outside his door.

"TODD! I know you're in there! Open up!" yelled Pietro for no apparent reason.

"I never said I _wasn't_ in here you spaz! And usually when a door is locked it means visitors are not welcomed." Todd shouted back as he tried to block the noise by covering his ears with the pillow. 

"But Todd!… I have something you want…." Said the white-haired boy with a taunting tone in his voice as he stood outside the locked door.

"What I _want_ is for you to go away!" there were a few moments of complete silence before the voice from the other side of the door answered.

"FINE!" and again silence followed.

~~ No way it was this easy to get rid of Pietro… ~~ Todd knew it was too good to be true but he enjoyed the quiet nonetheless.

"So Todd… what are you doing that's so private?" came a voice right beside him.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" the young freshman couldn't believe how fast his body had simply positioned itself to fit into the tiny corner of his bed. Fear will do amazing things. "How… how did you? Pietro!?!… HOW?!"

"Really Toddy…. They're called windows… and yours wasn't locked." Replied the speed demon with a smug look on his face. Nobody said 'no' to Pietro Maximoff, one way or another he always got what he wanted.

"Get out!" said Todd after he had regained his wits.

"Such a rude welcome, don't you at least wish to know what I'm going to say?" Pietro grabbed the forgotten pillow Todd had before and got more comfortable as he took a random magazine from the floor and started to look over its pages.

Todd immediately grabbed the magazine away from his extremely annoying 'friend' (he used the term loosely) and showed his 'I'm-very-angry' look. 

"I will take that as a 'yes' regardless of how such a look has been read in the past." Pietro continued to hug the pillow close to his chest as he now sat cross-legged at the end of the bed.

"What part of 'Get Out' didn't you understand?" he didn't want to deal with this. Usually when Pietro wanted to talk he'd go to Lance, why didn't he go there now?

"As I take it from this morning events…" the white haired boy continued ignoring Todd's previews question. "you seem in the mood to steal my new raspberry shampoo. So, I'm gonna lend it to you if you do me a tiny favor." 

            That raspberry shampoo was the farthest thing from his mind right now. This is why Pietro was interrupting the only Rogue day dreaming time he had? To talk about his new raspberry shampoo?! 

"I don't want it anymore, and even if I did I wouldn't be doing you any favors just for using it." Todd reached forward and grabbed his kidnapped pillow away from the sophomore's hands. "Now leave me alone." 

"That's such a shame… Kitty told me that Rogue really liked that. But I guess that's something you're not very interested in." Pietro got up, ready to finally give into the younger boy's demands.

"Rouge… likes that? Really?" Todd's green eyes were huge and innocent for a few moments… Pietro would've felt a little bad about what he was doing… just a little… maybe… 

"Yeah, didn't you know?… Girls usually like that sort of stuff, don't ask me why though. So, you still wish to use it?" he was now standing with his arms behind his back looking all nice and sweet.

"But you wanted a favor? What is it?" nothing with Pietro was free.

"Oh, so young and so full of malice! Honestly Toddy you need to learn to trust people more! Specially your own big brother." Pietro's sweet smile somehow seemed sweeter, his blue eyes twinkled and his long white bangs of hair were moving slowly against the soft wind coming from the opened window. He almost looked like an angel.

~~ YEAH RIGHT!…. ~~ thought Todd as he crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Pietro to finally tell him the cost of the use of his new shampoo.

"Fine! Fine, have it your way! You can use my shampoo if you stay home from school on Friday." Answered Pietro as he again dumped himself at the end of Todd's bed. 

"Stay home?… stay home on a Friday?! That's the big favor?" Todd sure had weird friends. "What about Lance? You know he wont let me stay just cause you want me to."

"But that is why, my little Toddy, you're going to be very ill by then." Pietro continued to smile as if what he'd just said was completely normal.

"You don't say?…" Todd was wondering if maybe it would be easier to simply steal the money he needed to buy himself his own bottle of raspberry shampoo… or steal the shampoo.

"We make everyone believe you're sick and Lance will let you stay then you pretend to get worse and Lance will send Mystique to check up on you and then she wont be at the school for the play!… It all works out beautifully!" Pietro clapped his hands gleefully as he examined his master plan. Todd however wasn't a believer in any plan that was originated by his demented friend.

"It will never work. Now get out of my room." Todd stood up and headed toward the door to unlock it for Pietro's exit.

"I can't believe you're afraid of a little hard work!" Pietro wasn't leaving until he had his way!

"First of all, Lance would never let any of us stay home from school unless we were dying and if that ever happened Mystique wouldn't come all the way over here for _me_!… For you, maybe; but definitely not for me."

"You're so negative…"

"Out!"

"Fine! But you _will_ get sick!" the white haired boy moved now toward the hallway as Todd stood ready to lock his door (and window) once more.

"No Pietro, _you're_ sick. Goodnight." And with that the door was gracefully slammed.

"HEY! Keep it down up there! I just got back from work and the last thing I need is a mess of doors closing!" Lance was back.

*************************************************************

"What do you have in there?" Kurt asked as he kept teleporting around Evan who held a small brown paper bag. 

"Really man, the Professor has _got_ to get a leach for you." Evan was trying unsuccessfully to get away from his furry friend. 

Ever since Scott had driven them back to the Institute Kurt had been curious as to what was this great secret Scott and Evan had planed… and why didn't they let him in on it? Evan guessed they could've acted a little more nonchalant instead of like little kids who managed to sneak into a kitchen to steal cookies, but the truth was neither of them expected the plan to work.

First of all, they weren't sure Lance would actually bring Pietro to the back of the school. They knew they'd get Mallory's help but even after that they didn't know how they were going to hold Pietro down long enough for Evan to get away.

They were so amazed at how things had turned out that they simply couldn't hold it back and thus gave way to suspicion from the others.

Rogue was trying in vain to stop the bickering noises coming from those two to reach her ears. She thought she'd get some peace and quiet in the study since Kitty and her endless talk on the phone about 'how great it is to like, have a boyfriend, you know', were currently using her room. She was dying to finish her latest vampire book but it looked as if that was not meant to happen.

"I just want to take a peek!" Kurt kept teleporting around but stopped when he noticed Rouge's narrowed eyes making holes into their souls. They looked almost as dangerous as Scott's eyes.

"What is so important that you can't let Kurt see already?! Some of us are trying to read here if you haven't noticed." Rogue stood up and walked toward the boys snatching the small bag from Evan's hands.

            She looked inside the bag and then stared at the two boys; Kurt's face was full of curiosity while Evan's looked as if his world was over.

"So?! What's in there!?" kept asking the blue mutant.

"Hey, give it back Rogue! It's not such a big deal, alright!" Evan tried to take his bag back but by then Kurt had teleported around the southern girl and borrowed it for a while.

            Kurt looked inside and then stared at the other two mutants in the room.

"Pictures…. of Pietro…. with, 'Cheerleader Heaven'?" or so was Kurt's nickname for Mallory.

"Those are _so_ fake!" said Rogue as she turned toward the blonde boy.

"Are not! He was with Mallory today, they met at the back of the school.  You see, Scott and I tried to warn Kitty but she didn't want to believe us." Scott had warned Evan not to show those pictures yet but he figured now that they had seen them he'd try to get them on their side.

            Kurt kept looking at the pictures as if he couldn't believe what they told. Yet he noticed the way Pietro seemed to back away from the very loving girl, and the way she was holding him and not the other way around… something wasn't right.

"Pietro doesn't go to the back of the school, believe me Kitty knows where he is at all times." Indeed, and the young freshman always kept Rogue informed… whether she wanted to be or not. 

"And what were you doing in there anyway?" asked Kurt as he finally took his eyes away from the pictures.

"I… I was just walking through… can't a guy do that?!" Evan was in a corner.

"With a camera?" Kurt raised an eyebrow 

            Now Evan was in trouble but as much as he wanted to simply grab the pictures and get out of the room he found his exit blocked as the resident red head walked in. He wished it had been Scott.

Jean had come into the study looking for the feisty brown haired girl. She just didn't understand why Rogue had been so angry with her that day; had she done something? Said something to upset the southern girl? She didn't believe she had, but she had come to find out.

The moment she walked through the door though she realized there was something else going on, and she wanted in on it.

"Guys… what's going on in here?" Jean hadn't left her spot in front of the door as she looked at the other teen's faces.

"Nothing… I was just going to find Scott." Evan quickly grabbed the pictures from Kurt and headed toward the door but was stopped as he heard Rogue's next words.

"These guys just don't quit! You'd think they would've matured a little." Rogue returned to her sitting position on the couch as she crossed her arms disapprovingly at the blond boy.

            Just then, as in answer to Evan's prayers, the senior member of the team walked in fully dressed in his Cyclops costume. 

"Alright guys, who's up for some Danger Room training?" four sour looking faces were his answer. "Ok… maybe not tonight."

"Scott, what is going on with those pictures?" asked Jean as she saw the reason why everyone had either an angry or confused look on their faces.

"What pictures?" Scott tried to play innocent but it was too late for that. "Evan, didn't I tell you not to show those yet."

"Yeah, but they totally ganged up on me!" Scott sighed as he took the pictures and tried to explain what was going on.

"Alright, so now you know. I was trying to spare Kitty from this, but these pictures are proof that no Brotherhood member is good news to any of us." Why couldn't the rest of his team see that he was telling them the truth?

"I don't know how you got Pietro into following you to the back of the school Scott, but those pictures are completely fake. Kitty wont believe you for a second." Rogue was very angry with her team leader right now.

"You're not going to show Kitty these pictures now, are you Scott?" Jean was worried it would upset the young girl.

"Of course not Jean, we're hoping Maximoff will do the right thing and tell the truth to Kitty himself." Which wasn't likely, but he had to give the boy a chance.

            Kurt didn't like this. He knew Evan had always hated Pietro so there was no doubt why he was doing this, but Scott's stubbornness came from his unfriendly situation with Lance Alvers. It wasn't fair for them to team up against Pietro the way they were doing.  

"Well, I think you boys should show a little more acceptance… you don't see Lance running around acting all crazy about those two, now do you?" Rogue had never thought that out of the two leaders hers would be the crazy one.

"Funny you should say that Rogue… but guess who was the one that told us Pietro was gonna be out there?" Evan had just had about enough of 'Lance Alvers the Great'.

The southern girl remained quiet as she tried to understand what Evan had insinuated by that. Had Lance helped them? Could he be that cruel to one of his friends? 

"I don't believe you…" she said, but she didn't sound sure.

"Evan, that's enough. Now let's just forget about this and wait and see what tomorrow brings, alright?" replied Scott as he tried to bring peace into the room.

            Jean had nodded away without a second thought and Kurt was willing the issue to be dropped for now but Rogue needed some time to think about this new bit of information.

~~ Lance had _helped_ them?! ~~ she couldn't believe it…

******************************************************

"LANCY!!!!" the white haired boy ran down the stairs in 1.2 seconds and was gracefully planted in front of the older mutant's face.

            Lance took a couple of steps back out from both surprise and in order to regain some of his lost personal space. 

"Why are you so happy? You didn't find the chocolates, did you?" Lance was weary.

"We have chocolates?" asked the young boy as he raised an eyebrow.

"Umm… no. That was just me being silly… so, then why are you so happy?" Apparently Lance had stopped at the supermarket on his way back to the Brotherhood's house and was now placing a gallon of milk inside the fridge as he waited for Pietro to respond.

For someone who was always bragging on his super speed, Pietro was sure taking his time in answering the question. The white haired boy looked down at his feet for a while and played a bit with his fingers before he felt like voicing his answer. After what seemed like forever the young sophomore looked up and smiled calmly at his older friend.

"I'm… I'm not sure. I should be worried sick. I mean, if Kitty ever saw those pictures I know she wouldn't forgive me. Even if I hadn't been the one doing the kissing by the way… still, it looks bad and I'm sure _Summers_ and _Daniels_ wont cut me any slack…" Pietro sighed then, Lance almost thought the young boy was done talking until he continued by adding his next words.

"After all the trash talk those guys must've given her about why Brotherhood guys are no good, if she saw those pictures I'm just not sure explaining would be enough…"  

Lance felt a sudden pain run through him. It was an odd sensation, nothing physical… but it was pain nonetheless. He had caused this. Well, he had helped to cause this… 

~~ Who am I kidding? I alone am responsible for this. ~~ Lance thought to himself as he continued to watch his friend's worried face. Where was the cheerful yet most of the time annoying smile? The youthful excitement that was the essence of Pietro Maximoff?

~~ I can't believe I did that… ~~ yet the brown haired senior was surprised when the younger boy smiled up at him.

"So,… then why are you happy again?" he asked as he continued to take out the small items he had brought from the market.

"Cause you said you'd take care of it. Somehow… that makes it better."

~~ OUCH! The pain! The PAIN!! ~~ Lance felt like a traitor. What had been going through his head when he agreed to Summers' crazy half-baked plan? He didn't know but he sure had to find a way to fix what he'd done… and soon.

            The thoughtful and emotionally charged mood was then suddenly shattered as Pietro began to hop around the kitchen demanding to know the location of the hidden chocolate.

"Damn it! Pietro! We don't have any!" came Lance's tired reply after a while.

"LIAR! Freddy knows, don't ya Freddy?" the white haired boy looked toward the small living room where the large junior was busy watching his favorite show on TV.

"Umm?…" came the half interested reply.

"The chocolate Freddy, where is it?" asked Pietro as he continued to hop around.

"I ate it." Came the simple answer.

"WHAT?!" both Lance and Pietro gasped in horror.

"That was MY chocolate Freddy! Why you go and eat it!?" Lance was outraged.

            Pietro though was busy starring at him with a look that clearly said 'knew you were lying'.

"I said we didn't have any… _for you_." Was Lance's only response as Pietro continued to complain. Freddy went back to his TV and Todd, who was by now listening from the staircase, simply asked Lance if he needed some sort of sleeping pill for the hyperactive sophomore.

            Just another normal night at the Brotherhood's.

************************************************************* 

            The ride to school the next morning was what could be categorized as Rogue's worst nightmare.

"So like, anyway, that was like totally cool, you know. And then she said she had like totally bought that jacket and we were all like 'wow! Really?' I mean that was like the coolest thing ever, you know?"

~~ Shoot me. ~~ Rogue was now sitting next to her very happy roommate as they drove toward another awful school day on the shiny red convertible.

At least this day wasn't as cloudy as the one before, it might rain later that night but they were almost sure they would have an almost sunny day for school. They would've been completely sure if Storm had decided to use her powers on the weather, but she had explained she let nature take it's course… that was boring though.

            Right now though the only thing she wanted was to have a long and serious talk with one particular brown haired senior… after which she would strangle him, it had been decided.

            Scott had effortlessly parked the car on his usual space and everyone began to gather their things as they all dreaded the day before them.

"Why couldn't the Professor teach us everything at the Institute?" asked Kurt as he grabbed his blue backpack.

"Because Kurt, we don't just need the knowledge we need the social interaction." Answered Jean as she fixed her red hair on the review mirror. 

Just then, it had also been decided, that after strangling Lance she would come back and strangle Jean. It was the only way she could sleep better at night. Her eyes wandered over the parking lot in search of the familiar old car that belonged to the Brotherhood, or more specifically to Lance since any other member of said team that laid their hands on it paid with sudden death.

"Like, guess the guys aren't here yet." Kitty too had been searching for their opposing mutant team, but for other reasons. It was almost time for the bell to ring and Rogue had to wonder where were those boys anyway?

********************************************************

"My… what a wonderful smell that is! Say Todd, do _you_ smell the wonderful fragrance?" asked Pietro as he sat on the back seat of Lance's car next to Freddy. 

            Todd was up front with Lance, which was a good thing, or else a fight would've started a long time ago.

"Shut up Pietro!" Ever since Todd had come out of the shower that morning the white haired boy had been nothing but a pest to him. So _fine_, he had used the famous raspberry shampoo and had actually taken great pains into using all the soap possible and even some of Lance's cologne… but not too much. He had hoped not to be so obvious but with Pietro pointing it out every five seconds it was kind of hard.

            Lance tried in vain to restrain a smile. Todd's usual pale cheeks were changing into a slight crimson as Pietro laughed in the back. The brown haired boy had to remind himself that as the eldest it was his job to keep peace between the others, not to make the youngest one feel more uncomfortable. However the whole situation was just so… so….

~~ CUUUUTE!… ~~ Lance Alvers never thought he'd see the day such a word entered his vocabulary, but there was just no other way to describe it. 

Lance stole a glace toward the boy and found him playing absentmindedly with his fingers. It was obvious their youngest member had developed a crush on someone; this made Lance feel proud for some reason. 

He thought about how young Todd was, only 13, surely he should talk to the boy, and after all he was 17, a whole four years older. He should guide the child and make sure he didn't do the same mistakes he did… instead he would make his own new batch. 

            Yet what would they talk about exactly?… girls?… maybe. Lance sure wanted to know who this new girl was that had Todd so excited. Would they talk about sex? It was a possible subject yet Lance would try his hardest to avoid it. Not that he thought Todd wasn't ready, the reason was _Lance_ wasn't ready. He had been taking a lot of fatherly attributes toward the other three members of the Brotherhood, but to have a serious talk about sex… that could wait another four years, right?

Lance parked the car in his usual spot and noticed, with a slight hint of anger, that the shiny red convertible had arrived already, however no X-geeks in sight. Lance was grateful for that. He needed to talk to Summers alone and undo the mess he had helped create for his friend.

            The dark haired mutant proceeded to lock the car as everyone made their way toward another joyful day of school. Suddenly the white haired boy ran (at normal speed) toward a couple of flowers and started to smell them.

"Oh Todd! You smell _divine_!… oops, wrong fragrance. Guess we cannot find you out of our sense of smell alone anymore, right Toddy?" Pietro gave a wicked smile as he kept on walking.

"THAT'S IT!" Todd was about to follow his annoying housemate but was stopped by Lance's strong hand on his shoulder.

"Ignore him Todd. You know that's what he wants you to do." Replied the older mutant as they kept walking.

"I don't know why he has to be making such a big deal yo!" the young boy crossed his arms and he would've pouted too had he not been on school property.

"That's what he does Todd. He was born to be annoying, what can I tell ya?" Lance had simply come to accept that as a fact of life by now.

"But Todd, why _did_ you use so much cologne today?" Freddy didn't get his younger friend's weird behavior.

"Umm…. No reason." Todd was getting uncomfortable.

"There has to be a reason…" the big mutant kept pushing.

"What?! I didn't need a reason to _not_ use cologne! Why do I need a reason to use it now?! I just felt like it ok!" now he was getting all defensive.

"Todd! It's ok. We're _not_ going to ask about it anymore." Lance gave Freddy a meaningful glance that not even the big mutant could misinterpret. "But you know, if you want to talk about it, I'm right here." 

"Oh… sure, no prob." Todd nodded simply to assure Lance he had heard him but there was no way he'd talk to _him_ about why he suddenly felt like cleaning up his act.

            As the three mutants kept walking they noticed how isolated everything had become. The bell was surely about to ring and even though most of the students didn't take punctuality very seriously they at least weren't likely to get caught outside of the main building. 

However, there was one lone figure standing by the door. As they kept approaching this mysterious figure they wondered why it was there. Was it Mystique, ready to distribute tardy slips and continue pilling up the detention room? No, that wasn't possible, the bell hadn't ringed yet.

             Finally, as they took their final steps they knew who it was.

Todd's heart skipped a beat. She was gorgeous! Sure, she looked a little mad, but that was just part of the whole beauty that was Rogue. Her beautiful narrowed eyes, her dainty hands on her hips and the slight slouch that was somehow made to look feminine. The young mutant hoped he would be able to talk to her today… at least a little more then three words.

"Umm… morning Rogue…" why was he nervous around her _now_!?  

"Would you guys excuse us? I need to talk to Lance. Alone." Her whole body language demanded nothing but obedience from them. 

As Todd walked beside Freddy toward the door he saw Lance had this seriousness on his face. He wasn't surprised at all that Rogue suddenly wanted to scold him for something… Once inside the young mutant walked toward one of the windows and continued to stare at the girl of his dreams. At least he had said three words to her… if 'umm' counted as one. 

**************************************************************

=^_^=

Yeah… I'm evil….

Kindly tell me what you think, I'd really appreciate it! ~_^


	17. A Lovers Feud part 17

  A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 17**

"So… to what do I owe the honor?" asked Lance even though he had a pretty good idea.

"You know perfectly well what I want to talk to you about… how could you do that Lance?!" the southern girl took a few steps closer to the older boy. "I thought Pietro was your friend." 

"Look, first of all, tell me what exactly did Summers say. Cause if he's trying to blame this all on me then he's lying." Lance was ready to be scold for his part, but not for everyone else's.

"Scott said Pietro always met with that girl at the back of the school and that you had clued them in on it." Rogue was a little sad… so it had been true that Lance was a part of it.

"You and I both know Pietro wasn't seeing any other girl. Summers told me to take Pietro to the back of the school but he never once mentioned what sort of half baked idea he had." As little of a defense as that was, it was his only one.

"So you just left him there? At the mercy of anything Scott could've planned?" she was outraged for the poor boy.

"Well I knew Summers wasn't gonna _kill_ him! He's not _that_ stupid!" now that was a lame excuse.

"I'm beginning to doubt that…" said Rogue as she crossed her arms.

"I don't believe this, I'm _defending_ Summers' intelligence…" he hadn't even set foot inside the school and his day was already not turning out how he had planned it.

All of Rogue's anger had disappeared and she was only left with a strange sadness that she couldn't explain. She walked pass the brown haired boy as she sat down on the steps. After a while Lance did the same and sat next to her.

"Lance I… I don't know… I thought you were different." She dropped her head and her eyes were now glued to the ground. Lance was afraid to speak in case he said the wrong thing, but fortunately she continued.

"At first I thought you would be the one to freak out and that Scott would be the reasonable one… the one with an open mind. But when I saw it had been you who had accepted, you who hadn't complained… I thought you were so mature. Considering most men have pea-brains until they're 30 or something…"

            Lance didn't know if he should feel offended… but he didn't have enough time to dwell on that.

"I began to hope there was something more to you then what I saw at first… and then I truly believed that you were _special_… and now you come and do something like this…"

            If Pietro's sad face the night before had caused him that much pain the hurt look on Rogue's eyes would've sent him to his grave.

"Rogue… I am _so_ sorry… I know what I did was wrong. I know that now! I was thinking just like Summers, about teams and grudges… but not anymore, you have to believe me." Lance needed her forgiveness before he could do anything else.

Her eyes were locked on his as she carefully thought about what he had just said.

"Even if you're not against Pietro and Kitty, do you still think it's wrong for a girl and a boy of opposing teams to somehow… be together?" Rogue tried to mask her doubts but he could see them in her eyes.

This was thin ice he was getting into. A cold sweat was running all over him as his eyes never once left Rogue's. His heart was pounding harder then he had ever felt it and he briefly wondered if Rogue was feeling the same way.

"No… it's not wrong." His voice was a whisper, barely noticeable. "Not if they truly care for each other…" 

They remained in that position for a while, both of them sitting close to each other as they looked into their eyes. Neither of them noticing when the bell rang. 

Lance didn't deserve this moment of happiness. He had helped cause so much pain to those he cared about. Yet he had to cherish this for as long as it lasted. Endless questions ran through his mind as he continued to stare into the beautiful eyes of this girl. This girl who he had once thought was adorable, but after her desertion he had promised himself to eliminate all thoughts about her. And here he was now, given a second chance for his daydreams to emerge once again. 

But first he had to right what he'd done.

"Rogue…" he was afraid to break the silence, but he needed her to know he could be what she had thought he was. He could be special… for her. The same way she was for him. "I will fix this… I promise." 

Slowly he took one of her gloved hands into his own. He noticed how small they were, compared to his own rough hands. Suddenly, it dawned on him… this was what Pietro felt when he was with Kitty. This urge to protect and be with this beautiful girl who not only understood him but loved him as well.

****************************************************

~~ How could he do this? To me! His own _brother_! ~~ A small part inside Todd's mind kept telling him it wasn't Lance's fault. Rogue loved Lance; she had always cared for him. It had been obvious even after she had left their team. So much in fact that even Kurt agreed to what a cute couple they would be.

            Yet somehow Todd wasn't convinced. Rogue might have feelings for Lance but she had no idea how Todd felt. 

Maybe if she knew… if she knew his own feelings she could make a better decision. Maybe she thought Lance was the only one who cared for her… 

The small part of his mind that was screaming for reason was telling him that she knew how he felt, but she didn't love him back… not the same way. 

But he wouldn't give in that easy. Even though he knew how his actions would turn out at the end he had to at least try… he had to…

**********************************************************

            First period was boring him… that was strange since he usually found his classes to be very entertaining. Right about now he would be on his third sheet of paper as he usually copied down every breath the teacher took. But today he had other things on his mind. 

            Finally they had the upper hand on the whole 'Evil Brotherhood' situation. Things were looking up and he couldn't wait to find Pietro to hear his final answer. He knew what the stubborn youth would say… the white haired boy wouldn't give up that easy. He would fight for the pictures, demand them back… he would threaten to do anything that both knew he wouldn't do. And finally, Scott would be forced to show the pictures to Kitty. 

            She would not believe him at first… she would side with her 'beloved' Pietro, her innocent Pietro… but the doubt would be there… the little hint of hurt over the question of' 'just how _did_ Pietro end up kissing that other girl?!?' 

            Scott didn't wish to hurt his young teammate but he was convinced she would be hurting a lot worse in the end if she remained with that Maximoff. 

            Suddenly his ears picked up the sound of his name being called. He looked up to see his teacher motioning toward the door. Apparently someone needed him and had sent a student to retrieve him. He slowly stood up and walked outside into the hall. It was eerily quiet as he stood there, not a soul in sight save for the one student that had come to fetch him… and it was non other then his favorite… Lance Alvers.

"Alvers?… what are you doing here?" Scott was rather surprised to find himself with the other senior, although deep down he knew it would happen.

" I need to talk to you Summers… those pictures, I want them back." So simple a request yet impossible to achieve.

"You took me out of class for _this_? You might be used to cutting Alvers, but I have grades to keep up." Scott would've turned around right there if his arm hadn't been grabbed just then.

"I'm not going to argue with you Summers… I used to think they same way you do. Let these kids do what they want, if it doesn't work out let them be the ones to decide that, not us and our meddling." Scott roughly pulled his arm away from the tight grip and showed a mocking smile.

"Let me guess Alvers…. 'You saw the light. You saw the evil of your ways'?" Scott's smile vanished to reveal the serious truth he knew. "It would never work out and you know it. This is too good of a link for Mystique to pass up. How do you think I will feel knowing I can't trust any information one of my team members brings. It's not that I would not trust _Kitty_, I just wouldn't put it pass Mystique to give you guys any mislead information simply to watch us running around in circles… but then again, I guess you wouldn't mind that much, would you _Avalanche_?"

The use of his codename meant they were talking in a leader-to-leader basis. Suddenly Lance realized this was how Scott had always talked to him. 

For Summers the team was everything, the ideal behind which the team fought for meant the world to him. But for Lance, who half the time didn't know exactly what neither Mystique nor their mysterious leader Magneto wanted, the ideal meant nothing. So while Scott saw team members who fought for 'the greater good' that their rich Professor proclaimed, Lance saw a bunch of kids who had been randomly picked by different teams. 

            Scott saw himself as the leader of a group of soldiers who were fighting for the right cause while Lance saw children who merely needed guidance… not that he saw himself as the best possible source for that.

            He really couldn't blame Summers for the way he had been acting… 

~~ It's all part of the programming made into him when he was back inside the mother ship…~~ he thought with some out-of-place humor.

But regardless of how much he wanted to stop the harsh words, stop the endless fighting, the divisions between their teams… he heard his words coming out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"Quit being stupid Summers! Those kids are too stubborn to break up over those pictures." Lance knew Scott's answer even before he had finished his own statement.

"Then you shouldn't be so worried if I showed them, right Alvers?" and with that the oldest X-men turned around and headed toward his class not bothering to give Lance a last look.

            As the door closed in on his face the dark haired senior simply stood there and thought over what just happened.

"Well… that went well…." He said to no one in particular as he began to beat up his brain looking for some other way to take those pictures back.

"Perhaps… I can help with that." Came a voice from behind Lance that nearly made him jump out of his skin. 

~~ Who said that?! ~~ he thought as he turned around to face what could very well be his only hope at fixing his mistake.

            He was amazed when he suddenly came face to face with the beautiful green-eyed red head.

*************************************************************

            The bell signaling the end of first period rang loud and clear through the halls of Bayville High. But even it's own sounds were suddenly muted as the raging voices of endless chatter came from the thousands of students that suddenly filled the halls. 

            Pietro Maximoff slowly made his way around the herds of people that wanted to practically squish him out of their way.

~~ Bunch of Neanderthals… don't they know _I'm_ walking here! ~~ thought the white haired youth has he kept making his own path.

Suddenly a familiar head came into view. The unmistakable dark blond (or light brown) hair of Tolensky was a welcomed sight after his very boring first class.

"Hey Todd! Wait up!" Pietro found it rather funny that the fastest mutant on Earth had to ask someone to 'wait up', but aside from not being able to show their powers in public he also had to shove a few people out of his way to reach his younger teammate.

            Once Pietro was standing next to his friend he realized something was different. Todd's eyes were narrowed, his whole attitude was angry and he could just feel the tension that seemed to cover the young boy completely.

"Umm, something wrong?" he was almost afraid to ask… or at least he would've been if his curiosity hadn't won over.

"No." came the short, not-so-sweet reply.

~~ Something is so terribly wrong! ~~ thought the white haired boy as they continued to walk in silence for a few more minutes.

"So… you wanna talk about it?" Lance was nowhere in sight, which meant he had to play 'big brother'.

"No." again the short, not-so-sweet reply. 

Pietro remembered how happy his friend had looked just a few hours ago… well, a few hours before he began teasing the hell out of him… but nevertheless, the boy had been happy and excited. 

Perhaps the reason why the young boy was so angry now had something to do with the reason why he had suddenly decided to sneak into Lance's room and steal some of his cologne… Pietro didn't know if he should feel offended… he had _way_ better cologne then Lance did!

"So… talked to Rogue yet?" Pietro smiled knowingly at his friend as he saw Todd's face change from upset to mildly surprised.

"How did you…?" he began, not really wanting to hear the answer. Had he been that obvious?

"Oh please! It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Although that still doesn't mean I am not one… So?! Have you even seen her today?! You know, if you like the girl you have to at least _try_ to see her!" Pietro was already picturing the countless 'accidental' meetings he could make up for his friend. It should prove interesting. 

            He was so caught up in his own little universe that he almost missed Todd's next words.

"Actually… I already saw her… but she was _busy_…" that last part had been said with a bit of malice.

"Well really Toddy! You have to ask her out or something!… You can't expect the girl to be looking for _you_!… Do you want me to help you with that?" the devilish smile escaped his lips regardless of how much he wanted to avoid it.

"No!… I mean, no thanks man… I think I can manage… although…"

"Yes?" Pietro casually raised an eyebrow.

"What if… you know, she doesn't really… like me?" he asked timidly while trying not to look at the older boy's eyes.

"No way! How could she not totally love you?! Besides, I'm taken… so she has to settle." This earned him a small punch on his arm but he simply kept on smiling.

"Still… she could like… someone else…" 

~~ Like Lance maybe… stupid Lance! ~~ 

"Well, it doesn't matter what other creep has an eye out for her cause you aren't gonna let _that_ stop you, right?" the smaller boy needed a boost of confidence before he met with the southern girl again.

"Right… I shouldn't stop just cause there's someone else, right?… right!" Now he felt better.

            Both boys continued walking to their next class until suddenly Pietro stopped dead on his tracks. He was looking ahead, toward the end of the hall; whatever stopped him was standing right there… Todd kept on looking until he saw it. The bouncy brown ponytail and the girly talk gave her away.

"Hey yo, Kitty's there…" noted the other boy as Pietro franticly tried to look for some hiding places.

"Yeah, I know… umm…. Wait here a sec!" and now Pietro was talking to Todd from the other side of a janitor's closet. "Is she still there?" came the worried question.

Todd didn't know what to make of it. Weren't they in love? Didn't they want to see each other whenever possible? … What happened here!? Nobody ever told him anything!

"Umm yeah Pietro, she's still there…" said Todd in a bored tone.

"Well, you're not staring at her right? Don't be so obvious! Honestly!" came the voice of faceless Pietro as he was still hiding.

"No, I'm not staring… not that it would matter since _everyone_ else _is_ considering how much bounce that girl's got." Pietro was quiet, he knew he was getting a dead-glare. "It's true!" 

"Fine Todd… still, does she look angry?" 

~~ Aha! Trouble in Paradise!… ~~ thought the younger boy as he watched Kitty more closely.

"Nope, she looks annoyingly happy…"

"You sure about that?"

"Well, she's annoying _me_…"

"Todd!"

"Alright, alright… she looks happy." 

The crowd of chattering children was soon dispersed as the bell rang signaling the beginning of their second class. Todd remained still, waiting for everyone (namely Kitty Pryde) to go back inside a classroom but he soon realized that the one girl he wanted gone more then any other was now staring at him.

            Todd looked back, not really knowing what else to do. Kitty knew Pietro was around… and the fact that he was avoiding her had hurt her, it showed in her eyes. Quickly though, before Todd could think of doing anything, the young freshman girl turned around and was soon gone from his sight.

"Hey, is it safe now?" that brought Todd's consciousness back to reality.

"Yeah, everyone's gone…" 

"Including her?" Should he tell his friend what he saw? The hurt look in her eyes?

"Yeah… Pryde's gone… So, you gonna tell me what's going on?" 

"Uh? What do you mean?" asked the white haired boy as he slowly came out from his hiding spot.

"You're avoiding her… you who a few days ago were driving me crazy with 'Oh my girlfriend's so pretty' talk… what happened?" Todd wanted to be filled in.

"Well… I think she might be mad at me…"

"Why?" 

"Cause… cause I forgot our anniversary?" he smiled sheepishly, knowing full well that answer wasn't going to cut it.

"Did you do something to her? You know, you're gonna have Summers on your back now yo!" Todd started walking toward his now tardy class.

"I didn't do anything and I _already_ have Summers on my back!" Life just wasn't fair! Why couldn't the entire world understand he just wanted to be King of the Universe and be left alone until he commanded otherwise?

Still, Lance had said he'd fix his problem with the annoying X-geeks… he could count on Lance for anything. So now he had to occupy his mind with the other existing problem he had.

"So… about Friday… I was thinking you could start with a fever or something…" Pietro kept looking ahead, not really wanting to see the dirty looks from his friend.

"When are ya gonna get it through your head? Mystique is not gonna be all worried about me yo! Try something else to get her gone on Friday!" 

"Like what?!" Pietro was running out of ideas.

"I dunno… but we better talk about it during lunch yo, cause we're really late and if Lance finds out he's gonna freak." Todd had now reached his classroom but before going in to take his seat he walked over to his friend and gently smacked him on his forehead.

"Fix things up with Pryde you lunatic! Later…" and with that he was gone.

            Pietro stood in front of the closed door for a few minutes simply thinking about the unfairness of the universe.

~~ Lance better fix this… ~~ he finally thought as he continued on his way to class.

*********************************************************

Time had just flown by when he had skipped his first two classes but it seemed that was now catching up to him as he sat staring straight ahead into some unknown dot of the universe while pretending to be paying attention to the beginning of his fifth class. 

            Lance Alvers didn't wish the amount of boredom he got out of his third and forth period on anyone…. Except maybe Summers. 

As he sat down pretending to hear what his teacher was saying he began to think over the plan he and, none other then, Jean Grey had come up with during second period. 

He had never in a million years thought he would be doing something with the popular red head… then again, he had gotten quite a few surprises these past couple of weeks.

            His eyes began to move toward the door… any minute now… any minute….  WHAT WAS TAKING HER SO LONG?!!?!!?!?

~~ I can't believe I'm getting as impatient as Pietro… ~~ thought the brown haired senior as he tried to understand what was being done in class… after all, it was supposedly coming on the test.

            The teacher continued talking until a new student came into the room. Lance looked up and let out a sigh of relief as he saw Jean Grey handing a note to his teacher.

"Mr. Alvers, you're needed in room 305." Said his teacher without giving him much of a look.

"Um, yes sir…" Lance got up and followed the red head out into the hallway. Once there he seemed to relax.

"What took you so long?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You think it was easy to get out of my class? … Not to mention getting _you_ out." Jean casually moved her hand across her face to move a few strands of her red hair.

"Fine… at least tell me you got it…" both continued walking along the long corridor.

"Yes, I told you I'd get it… this was easier then getting you." She added as she gently patted the small bag she was carrying signaling that the object in question was in there. 

"Good…" he said but after a few minutes Lance began watch the red headed X-man out of the corner of his eye. 

"You still don't trust me!" said Jean with a slight hint of surprise.

"Get out of my head Red." He wasn't angry at the idea of her reading his mind, but he wanted her out.

"I wasn't _'in your head'_ Lance, but it's so obvious… I already told you I'm here to help you."

"And I'm telling you I don't trust that… not completely at least…"

"Because otherwise you wouldn't be here with me right now…" she added as she raised her eyebrow questioning him.

"Now you really are _'in my head'_…" he stopped right in front of a classroom.

"…. Ok, maybe that second time I was in your head… but still! I already told you… I don't think what Scott is doing is right. And as long as what you wish to do is simply to correct what's being done and not do anything to Scott then I'm going to help you in any way I can." Jean's eyes were fixed on his as if daring him to question her assistance. 

"Fine Red… I believe you." Replied Lance in a bored tone as he agreed simply to make the girl happy.

~~ Man, Rouge better appreciate this… ~~ he thought as he remembered their brief encounter that morning.

"… Rouge?…" asked Jean before she could stop herself.

Lance only gave her a cold stare… 

~~ Get out of my head Red… I'm serious… ~~ he thought knowing she was still lurking about.

"Fine… I'm out…. But I can also help you with that." She said and then quickly walked into the classroom before Lance could say anything.

            He waited outside as his new 'partner in crime' accomplished phase two of their plan. He couldn't stop thinking about how strange it felt to be on the same side as Jean Grey. He had never really known the girl… he mostly considered her annoying… but now he knew better… she was one to watch out for. She was tricky, but not necessarily in a bad way toward him. She simply had this strong sense of 'justice' inside of her that made her want to 'right wrongs'. 

He was grateful she was a very reasonable being and didn't side with Summers just because they were on the same team. He really had to give her some credit… that is, if they really accomplished their plan.

            Suddenly Jean came out of the room with a very surprised and slightly worried Fred. Lance made eye contact with the huge boy making sure he understood it was ok for Jean to be there.

"Alright Red… where to now?" he asked wanting to get a move on before the bell rang.

"This way." And the two mutants were on their way down the hallway while Fred followed with a bewildered look on his face. Lance was going to have to explain things along the way.

*******************************************************

            The teacher was explaining a very complicated math problem on the board. Most of the students were busily writing away every number and strange figure there. However, there was a small group sitting on the end of the room that seemed oblivious to everything around them except for the new magazine they were holding and the 'fascinating' articles on clothes, boys and dating.

"This color would look so good on you." Said Jenny, one of the cheerleaders of Bayville High as she kept her eyes on the different colors and trends of the season. "What do you think Mallory?"

Mallory looked over the magazine a couple of times before agreeing with her friend. "Those are very cool for me… let's skip after lunch and go shopping, we really need to buy these before they become too popular with the rest of the crowd." 

"Oh… I don't know Mal… I really need to go to my class… how on Earth am I going to pass Science if I don't take notes?" Jenny would've loved to go shopping though.

"Don't be silly Jen… remember, Claudia takes that class with us … we'll simply borrow her notes." Mallory looked over to the front of the class where the 'play-god' was busily writing down the math problems… "We should ask her for this class notes as well."

"Hey Mal… I don't think I told you yesterday, but Claudia was caught doing something naughty by Principal Darkholme." Jenny was talking in a low whisper that indicated the beginning of good gossip.

"Really?… Sweet, serious, responsible Claudia? What she do?" This was… interesting.

"I don't know, but Lance does." Jenny smiled as she remembered the dark haired senior boy.

"Alvers? Claudia was caught doing something bad with Alvers?" This was just too good! Mallory had wanted to get back at the person she thought was her friend for not letting her return as female lead on the play.

'You couldn't learn all your lines now' 

'Pryde has already been practicing for weeks' 

'I just can't do it Mallory.' 

All those excuses which the red headed cheerleader simply didn't believe. But now, this was her chance to get what she wanted.

            Suddenly the door of her classroom opened up and through it walked the very popular Junior, Jean Grey. 

~~ She's only popular cause Duncan has a crush on her… she's nothing more but a junior jock, playing soccer and everything… and she writes for the school newspaper… take those things away and you've got a very unpopular person! ~~ Of course, Mallory wasn't counting on Jean's good looks and her charming personality.

"Mallory, a teacher needs you…" and with that the older woman went back to write her math problems on the board.

            The red head with curls got up and followed the other girl who although had the same color of hair, hers was commonly straight. Once outside in the hallway Mallory turned to the younger girl.

"So? Who's calling me?" demanded the cheerleader.

"Well… I'm not sure, they only asked me to pass the message but they mentioned they wanted you on the drama class room." Replied Jean while ignoring the other girl's tone of voice.

"Fine Jean, you don't need to follow me. I can make it on my own." And with that Mallory kept walking trying to get rid of the other red head.

"Very well Mallory, I'll see you later then." Jean smiled kindly as she turned around and headed the opposite direction.

            After a few minutes Mallory had arrived at the designated place. It was empty… and dark. She looked at the stage located at the other end of the room. It was already being prepared for this Friday's show. The one it should've had Pietro and _herself_ as the stars. She walked toward it as she kept looking for any signs of any other living thing in that room with her.

"Hello?… Anyone there?" she asked starting to get a bit spooked. This place at night must be something else.

"Hello Mallory." Came a voice from the stage.

"AAH! Who's there?!" now she was really spooked.

"Relax, would ya?! It's me!" Lance came out of the shadows and took a few steps toward the startled girl.

            Mallory relaxed for a bit but that didn't last since she didn't exactly like Lance Alvers. 

"What are you doing here Alvers? Got tired of damaging school property?" she stood in front of her classmate with her arms crossed waiting to hear what he had to say.

~~ God! She's almost as bad as Summers! ~~ he thought as he tried not to get angry with the girl… yet.

"Listen, you and I both know Summers did a terrible thing with Pietro and those pictures… I need your help in getting them back. Please. I'm sure Pietro would really appreciate this from you." Lance waited and watched as the girl's face showed her surprise and then it showed her little taunting smile.

"As far as I know, you went along with this _'terrible thing'_." She wasn't going to come peacefully. "You should forget about that and focus on doing more _'naughty things'_ with Claudia."

"Uh?… what are you talking about?" Lance really wasn't expecting that.

"Oh please, don't try to hide it. The Principal caught you two… I know all about it." She was ready to leave but stopped at Lance's next words.

"Right…. Well then, I guess you know what happened then, right?" Obviously he knew she didn't since _nothing at all_ happened. But he had to keep her with him for a few more minutes.

"Of course I know… but why don't you explain your side of the story Alvers, I'd like to hear it." Finally! She would have the greatest gossip around.

"Well, before I tell you, you have to promise you'll help me take those pictures back." Lance had to try one more time.

"I already told you, I'm not going to help you with that. That Pryde really doesn't do him any good. You should know that." This was her chance to get back what was hers. "I mean, come on! A little freshman?… How good could she be?" 

            Lance had enough of the arrogant little girl and decided to begin the first stage of their plan.

"Freddy!" he called and suddenly from behind the surprised cheerleader came the biggest figure she had ever seen. 

"Dukes?!" … What were they going to do to her?!

"Lance, do I have to?" said the big mutant as he stood blocking Mallory's exits.

"Yes Freddy, we talked about this… I promised you a free lunch anywhere you wanted… now do it!" Lance was going to have his way.

"Fine…" Freddy was moving close to Mallory now and the young girl, out of pure instinct began to move away.

"What is going on here Alvers? Call him off!" she screamed but soon she felt the ground beneath her feet tremble. The movement was so suddenly she had lost her balance and would've surely crashed on the floor if it hadn't been for Freddy's strong arms holding her.

"Eeewww! Get away from me you freak!" those were her last words as she felt something silencing her.

            Her eyes grew wide and her whole body tensed up. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. She tried to move her hands but found that impossible even though nothing was holding her back. 

~~ I…. Am being _kissed_… by FRED J. DUKES! EEEEEEWWWW!!! ~~ and as if her world wasn't crashing enough, she began to see sudden flashes of light… when she opened her eyes she saw…Jean Grey… holding a camera.

******************************************************************

Alex Notes:

And that is for all of you who thought Jean Grey wasn't EVIL!!!  HAHAHA! *ahem* …… 

*suddenly feels an urge to pat Todd on the head*  Isn't he cuuuute!? ^_^

Todd: Cut that out yo!  

Alex: Tee-hee! =^_^=

Now all of you!! *points at the readers*

REVIEW!!! LOTS OF TIMES! ….. NOW! (pretty plz!) 


	18. A Lovers Feud part 18

  A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 18**

            Taking fifth period with Mr. Smith was the worst-case scenario he could think of. He was really trying to pay attention… but it was just so hard. Every tiny little thing kept making his mind wander around any particular subject other then the class. Not to mention he was so hungry he could have eaten anything.

            He turned around for a bit and spotted Rogue in the back. She looked really out of it, completely spaced-out. He wondered the reason for that; not that Mr. Smith was giving a very interesting monologue… but still, she had looked just fine this morning. He would have to find out what happened at lunch. Whatever it was though it couldn't be as bad as what a certain white haired boy was going through… that is, if you let facial expressions guide you.

            Kurt never really paid much attention to the Brotherhood unless they were in battle. However, these past couple of weeks he had found himself spending some time with a few of them and he came to realize that they were rather fun. But of course, he wouldn't tell Scott that.

            The one he spends more time with was Todd… and that was rather ironic since their first meeting wasn't what you'd call agreeable. Nevertheless, it was through him that Kurt discovered a lot of things about the Brotherhood, like Lance's very over-protective nature; Pietro's wild and crazy ideas that never worked… unless their goal was to drive Lance nuts; and even about Freddy's more friendly nature… he had been surprised at that one.

"Mr. Wagner…" the superior voice of his teacher made the young mutant return to reality.

"Yes sir?…" he hadn't looked _that_ spaced out… had he?

"Would you care to answer the question?" Mr. Smith was looking at him, but not in an angry way. Kurt had always been a very responsible student and for a teacher the thought that he could 'space out' wasn't an option.

"Umm…." He had no idea what the question was, much less how to answer it.

Suddenly his sensitive ears picked up a soft whisper. 

"Just say option B." and with that, the whisper was gone.

"Umm… Option B?" he said not sounding very sure of himself.

"Very good Mr. Wagner!" Mr. Smith seemed to have been pleased.

A few minutes later the bell rang and the mass of hungry children ran out of their classrooms as fast as they could.

            Once the blue mutant was out of the room he waited close to the lockers for Rogue to catch up. However, he wasn't going to wait alone as a figure with white hair suddenly stopped next to him.

"What in the world is wrong with you? That was the easiest question Mr. Smith has thrown all semester!" Pietro was leaning against the lockers as he looked into Kurt's blue eyes.

"Oh that… I was a little out of it… thanks for your help though. I really appreciate it." The German boy smiled. It felt strange to be talking so casually to the speed demon.

"Yeah well… you better pay more attention next time. I'm planning on copying my homework from you and that attitude is not making me happy!" replied Pietro as he continued to lean against the lockers watching the other children run toward the cafeteria. Kurt simply smiled…

"Of course… I promise to pay more attention." Todd was right, Pietro was very weird indeed.

            Finally, Rogue decided to come out of the classroom and quickly joined the other two boys.

"So umm…. How are ya Pietro?" she asked sweetly. Had Lance fixed the mess he had caused? Or perhaps he was waiting for Scott to make the first move?

"I'm good, a bit hungry though. So I guess we'll be heading for our luxurious lunch room." He rolled his eyes at that last statement.

"Yeah, guess we'll see ya there." Rogue and Kurt began walking away until they felt a sudden gust of wind next to them and immediately after Pietro was by their side again.

"You know, I was just thinking… you look a bit sick Rogue. You should have lunch outside today. The sun might be good for ya." Said Pietro as he smiled at the southern girl.

"Umm, sure." Rogue didn't sound too sure. "I guess the guys wouldn't mind eating outside today, right?" she looked at Kurt who simply nodded.

"Yeah, it might be good…" answered the blue mutant as he wondered why Pietro had suggested such a thing.

"No, no, no… _'the guys'_ stay inside. _You_ have lunch outside." The white haired mutant wasn't leaving until she had agreed to do as he suggested.

~~ Maybe Lance needs to talk to me…. ~~ thought Rogue as she agreed to eat by herself today.

"Good! So you, Blue boy get to tell wonderful Mr. Summers that Rogue here has something important to do." Pietro smiled satisfied that he was getting his way.

"Sure…" Kurt knew the white haired boy wasn't planning anything bad… but just the same, it all seemed strange.

Rogue decided to leave them and find a good, isolated table for when she met with Lance. Perhaps he needed her help in order to get the pictures back? Or perhaps… he wanted to talk… about, something else… 

            Kurt and Pietro both stopped walking and watched as Rogue walked away trying to cover a very crimson face.

"What's up with her?" asked Pietro once she had gone.

"I'm not sure. She was acting all funny during class though…" Kurt turned to stare at the other sophomore now. "Why do you want her to eat alone today?" 

Pietro smiled. He was going to help his younger friend to at least have a chance at talking to the southern girl.

"I'm just doing a favor… in fact, I think you could help me a little. That is, if you'd like to do something nice for Todd…" he finished as he kept walking toward the cafeteria.

"Uh? What does Todd have to do with anything?" Kurt was curious again.

************************************************

            Kitty Pryde wasn't having much fun at all as she sat down at their usual table. As if suddenly noticing that her boyfriend was clumsily avoiding her wasn't enough she had no one to talk about it with. 

            Why had Pietro freaked when he saw her? Why did he wish to avoid her? They hadn't argued at all so she had no idea what was wrong. And worst of all, where were Jean and Rogue when she desperately needed some other girl to talk to?

            She wasn't alone in her confusion as Scott kept looking around everywhere for any sign of their other teammates. Not even Kurt had showed up! And they all knew how he couldn't skip a meal… even if it was cafeteria food.

"Where are they?" asked Evan for the 100th time. "Man, this is totally freaky."

"Yeah Evan, I know… let's just keep our eyes open. I'm sure that if they were in trouble Jean would've communicated with us." Scott wanted to sound sure and calm, but he wasn't quite getting there.

"So like, guys… anything new? I mean, like we hardly talk. And with all these rehearsals and all… but like, what have you been up to?" she needed to talk about anything that wasn't Brotherhood related… anything to clear her thoughts.

Scott and Evan exchanged a look. Should they tell her now? They didn't have the pictures with them but they could get them. Evan opened his mouth as if to start but Scott cut him in.

"Well… we… we haven't been doing much. Just, school stuff… yeah." Scott smiled at the young girl as he tried to eat some … whatever that was.

"Oh…" Kitty kept poking at her plate. 

Everything went quiet for a while but that didn't last long as the figure of a young girl suddenly walked up to their table and banged her fits against it.

"GOD! Like, what's like, wrong with you?!" Kitty looked up and saw the curly red hair as Mallory's green eyes fixed themselves on Scott.

"We need to talk Summers. You too Daniels." She said without even bothering to look at Kitty once. Then, just as quickly as she had arrived, she walked away toward the exit.

"Like, what was _that_ all about?" she asked as she looked over her friends.

"We… we don't know… but we're going to find out. Come on Evan." Said Scott as he stood up to leave.

"Like, do you need me to come with you?" was she seriously going to have to sit alone?

"NO!…. Umm, you stay here. We'll be right back." And with that both boys left after the angry cheerleader.

            Now Kitty sat on their usual table… completely alone. 

"Like, fun…." Her blue eyes moved over the entire place. Every other table was filled with students as they all laughed about jokes or complained about the food… where were all her friends?! 

            Her gaze suddenly fell onto the table at the farthest corner. She knew that table, it was the Brotherhood's… but strangely enough, there seemed to be a lack of members preset there too.

            She gathered her strength and picking up her tray she headed toward it. She just couldn't be alone right now.

*************************************************

"Where on Earth could they be, yo!" Todd sat back looking over his food a few times.

            He tried to eat something… but everything looked too disturbing to place into one's mouth. At least with flies you knew what you were eating.

            The small freshman had waited for his friends for quite a while before he finally decided he was too hungry and headed toward the lunchroom while trying to avoid being spotted by any jocks.

            He hoped nothing was wrong… it wasn't like his friends to suddenly ditch him. Well, Pietro could've found some shinny object that led him away, but Freddy wouldn't miss lunch unless it was something big. As for Lance…

~~_He's probably with Rogue somewhere_… ~~ he thought as he picked at his food.

Rogue… he had to talk to her… but how? His mind began to dwell on countless thing he could say to her… all of which sounded completely stupid to him at the moment. He didn't have enough time to go over his imaginary dialogue as he suddenly noticed he wasn't alone anymore.

"Um, like… hi." She said sweetly hoping not to come off as nervous.

"Um… hi yo." Todd's eyebrows were raised in mild surprise. What was Kitty Pryde doing so far away from her safe little table? "Can I help ya with anything?"   

"Um, no… not really. I was just wondering if I could like, sit down?" she noticed some other students were looking at her. She hadn't made a wrong decision by coming here, had she?

"Sure, sit." Todd quickly moved his backpack out of the way as she set her tray down. "I'm just curious yo… why aren't you at your table?" 

"Well, like, everyone had this very important thing to do, right. And so like, none of them thought it would be nice to like, tell me about it. So they all left to do _whatever_ and left me all like, alone!" she finished and began to take furious small bites of her lunch.

"Oh…" was basically all he could say.

~~ So Rogue _is_ with Lance… ~~ he thought.

            They ate in silence for a while until Kitty spoke.

"Like Todd? …. If there was something wrong with Pietro, you would like tell me, right?" Kitty's big, hopeful eyes were certainly hard to avoid.

"Umm, well… if there was something bothering Pietro… I think he would tell you himself… I think…" Pietro was too unpredictable to be judged by normal standards.

"Oh…" was basically all she could say.

Again they ate in silence for a few minutes, each trying to concentrate hard on the food (if it could be called that) that was placed before them. Until Todd spoke.

"So… you wouldn't know if Rogue talks about any one of us, would you?" 

~~ Smooth Todd… very smooth…~~ he was mentally kicking himself.

"Well… like, lately she's been insulting Lance a lot… and every time I talk about Pietro she places a hand on her temple and shakes her head… if that counts for anything…" Kitty glanced back at her table, but so far none of her friends were back.

"So she doesn't like Lance?… she's mad at him?" It was now Todd's turn to have the big, hopeful eyes.

"I don't know… Rogue is tricky like that, you see. She will insult almost anyone, but it doesn't like, mean she hates them… it's just so, like hard to tell with her you know…" she noticed as Todd's eyes fell, his hopeful expression gone. "Or maybe like, you know… she totally hates him!… yeah, that may be it!"

Todd sat starring at her, trying to make up his mind on whether to believe her or not. In the end his mind seemed to need a break from worrying and decided that she was telling the truth.

"Ok!" he said, more to himself then to Kitty.

~~ Oh, like… did I say the right thing?~~ she thought as she kept eating. ~~Well, at least he looks happy now.~~

****************************************************

            A soft poof was heard inside the boys' bathroom which was off limits to the rest of the student body since the plumbing needed to be fixed. Kurt had just landed holding a bag of Chinese takeout when a voice behind him made him jump.

"Took your sweet time!" said Pietro as he grabbed the bag.

"Don't scare me like that!…" Kurt's blue eyes were fixed on Pietro's as the white haired boy looked inside the bag. "You really think it'll work?"

"Of course it will, Blue Boy!… Rogue left in such a hurry she didn't grab a bite to eat. The poor girl must be famished… so, wont she think it incredibly sweet if little Toddy goes and saves the day?"

            Quickly, before anyone noticed, they got out of the broken bathroom and into the semi crowded hallway. They were heading toward the cafeteria when suddenly Kurt had to ask something.

"Say, why didn't _you_ buy the takeout? You have super speed." 

"I thought that was obvious… I didn't have enough money." Pietro smiled devilishly at Kurt as he began to walk faster.

"Hey!… why you…" Soon Kurt was practically running after him.

**************************************************

            Although the cafeteria was surrounded by miscellaneous sounds; from children laughing, to trays banging on either the table or sometimes the floor; if you listened hard enough you would find a new sound. One that had never before been heard… at least not together.

            Kitty was laughing so hard she couldn't stand it. Meanwhile, Todd kept going with his story while trying to hold back his own laughs.

"I tell ya yo! Pietro had to sleep in my room for two weeks before he felt safe back in his own room." Todd was sure glad the white haired boy got tired of sharing his small bed. 

"Like, what was he thinking?!" she said between fits of giggles. "He seriously left some of Mystique's underwear inside Lance's car?!"

"Boss lady got so angry at Lance, he got detention for a month." Todd shook his head remembering the very stressful time that now seemed like a joke. "He wasn't very happy yo."

"I'd like, imagine…" Kitty smiled as she pictured Pietro holding onto Mystique's clothing as he devilishly placed on the rearview mirror. "Lance deserves like, a medal or something…" 

"Yeah, Lance sure has gone through a lot thanks to Pietro… that boyfriend of yours is gonna kill him, you know that."

"Like, unless Lance finally snaps and kills him first." Not that she wished it would happen.

            So far all she had learned was that Lance seemed to have an infinite amount of patience… and that Pietro was a troublemaker. Big surprise there…

"Like, I'm going to buy a coke, you like, want one?" she asked as she began to take some money from her bag.

"Umm… that's ok… I don't…" he began, but was cut short by Kitty as she stood up.

"Hey, my treat! I'll be right back, 'kay?" and off she went toward the machine.

            Todd barely had enough time to adjust to being alone again when he suddenly found two heads hovering above him.

"So… you came back from the dead yo… how was it?" Todd asked as he took one last bite of his meal.

"Listen to me Toddy, we have a lot to do and not much time to do it in… here." Pietro handed him the Chinese takeout bag which Todd caught effortlessly.

"What is this yo?" that young boy asked as he smelled what was inside.

"It's Chinese takeout…" replied Kurt as he sat beside Todd.

"But I already ate…" he said as he tried to give the bag back to Pietro. "You should've come a little earlier though yo. I would've eaten it then."

"It's not for you! It's for Rogue!…" did he have to explain his master plan all over again?

"Then why doesn't Blue boy give it to her?" Todd knew where this was going, but he didn't feel strong enough yet to face her.

"The idea is for _you_ to give it to her Todd." Said Kurt as he took hold of one of Todd's small writs and pulled him to his feet.

"Hey!…" he said as he was being lifted.

"Very good Kurt! Now listen, Rogue is waiting outside below the big tree and you must go there and give her the bag. If she asks how you got it tell her you snuck out to buy it for her." Pietro was pushing Todd while Kurt pulled. "Girls love that type of stuff."

"Fine! FINE! Stop pushing me!" they let go of the younger boy. "I'll go with Kurt, but I need you to stay here and … look after my backpack! Yeah, that's it!"

            Todd was now pulling Kurt away from the table as they left a bewildered Pietro behind.

"Why not simply take it with you?" Pietro asked to no one in particular since the two boys had already left.

            The white haired boy took his friends bag and noticed for the first time that his was not the only one.

~~ I've seen this bag before… ~~ he said as he looked into it. ~~ oh no, it's… ~~

"Pietro?" he heard his name being called and slowly turned around.

"Umm…. Hey, how are you?" he asked as he came face to face with his girlfriend.

"I'm fine…" Kitty looked down at her feet, suddenly finding them very interesting. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence she simply placed the two cokes on the table. "So like, where's Todd?" 

"He… had to take care of something…" He had to talk to her, had to tell her what was happening.

"Oh, so like… he tricked you into staying here then…" she sounded disappointed.

"That is _not_ true…. I wanted to talk to you…" 

~~Just not now… stupid Todd! ~~ he thought as he continued to look at the girl he loved above everything else.

"So like… is everything like…ok?" she was almost afraid of the answer.

"Yeah, sure…." ~~Does she know something? Did Summers tell her already? ~~  "Why wouldn't it?" 

"Well, you were like, avoiding me…" Kitty began to play with the end of her bouncy ponytail as she waited to hear what Pietro had to say about that.

"Oh…. well…. Umm, I…. I was kinda having a bad day and … I didn't want to upset you." Maybe she'd buy that…

Kitty's blue eyes kept starring at him as her hands landed on her hips giving her a pose of: 'yeah right'.

"Ooookay…" he said looking around for anything that would distract the young girl long enough to save him. "But… but… I love you!" he blurted suddenly with an innocent smile.

"Uh huh…." Was all she said. Fine, so he didn't want to tell her what was wrong…. Maybe she should wait? The way Todd said earlier: _'If there was something bothering Pietro… I think he would tell you himself… I think…'_.

            But that last _'I think'_ didn't make things any easier.

"Fine… like, ok Pietro. You can tell me what's wrong later." She said reluctantly as she turned her head away.

"Oh right! That's what I love about you!" he was so happy he didn't have to explain things right now, but his excitement only earned him a dirty look. "Oh… bad Pietro, bad! Don't worry, I'll tell you after everything gets settled down." 

He placed his arm over her small shoulders and gently pulled her into him. 

"Now… what you say… we go somewhere private?…" he whispered into her ear.

"Like… I'm still mad, you know…" she was going to be firm! She wasn't going to fall for that old trick!

"Please Kitty…. Please… my pretty kitten…pleeeease." He continued his soft pleas over her ear and finally she just had to giggle.

"Oh alright… but I'm going under protest!" she said as the white haired boy led the way.

*************************************************************

            The library was the best place to go if you had to think… or do homework… it was cold and quiet. Now, the quiet part was due to the lack of people and the cold part was due to the fact that the librarian apparently wanted to freeze to death. 

~~Well… if _I_ worked on a library I know I'd like to die soon… ~~ thought the senior girl as she continued her reading.

            Claudia kept playing with a strand of her long black hair as she looked over the order of the plays. Bayville High would be performing first on Friday followed by a high school from New York. This was good since her cast wouldn't get a chance to get too nervous as they wait to perform. She also had to make sure Ms. Darkholme showed up. If anything could send fear down the spine of every other judge would be her Principal's cold, dark stare. She totally loved it!

            As she kept looking over her papers she noticed a long shadow had appeared over them. She looked up to see who it was and came to face with one of her cheerleader friends, Jenny.

"Hi Claudia…. How are you?" said the other girl sweetly.

"I'm busy." She answered turning back to her papers.

~~ She _did_ ask how I was… ~~ she thought as perhaps her answer had been too harsh, but if it was the other girl hardly noticed.

"Well that's good." Jenny smiled again. 

~~ How could that be good? ~~ Claudia kept reading.

"So… could I look over you notes for a while? I lost mine." Said Jenny as sweetly as she could.

"Then go ask Mallory for _her_ notes." Replied Claudia just as sweetly.

"Well… she couldn't take any since that Jean Grey took her out of class." That was true… although Mallory wasn't going to take any notes either way.

            Claudia sighed as she tried to pretend this inane person wasn't bothering her from her play activities. 

"I don't have my notes with me Jenny… _maybe_ I'll give them to you later." She said trying to sound nice… which was giving her a headache.

"Oh! Ok, thank you so much Claudia!" Jenny was so happy… that was as close to a yes as she'd be able to get!

            After that Claudia thought she'd be able to continue working on her director responsibilities, but that idea was again soon shattered as she heard loud yelling coming from outside. Although the place was closed tight and under the merciless will of the air conditioner, she could still hear the yelling… mostly by some girl with a very bad temper.

~~ Wonder who it is?… ~~ thought Claudia as she stood up and left the freezing library. Soon she was greeted by the much warmer climate and she could hear the voices clearly now.

"Give them back Daniels! I want them and I want them now!" that was Mallory's voice.

"I already told you, I don't have them here! And would you stop pulling my backpack!" Those two were apparently having a tugging contest in which Daniels bag was going to come out as the looser. "You better not break my backpack man!"

"Mal… let's be reasonable…" that was Scott's voice. "The plan is going great… we just need you to hold on for a few days."

"Did you hear a word I said to you Summers? If I don't give those pictures of me kissing Pietro back before Friday the whole school is going to have a copy of that… that… _THING_ kissing _ME!_" Mallory didn't think someone like Freddy deserved a name… instead he was categorized as a _thing_.

"You don't need to worry about that… I'll get those pictures back from Alvers. Now would you please relax?" Scott had to hand it to Lance… he was sure making a nuisance of himself.

"Fine!" replied Mallory as she finally let go of Evan's bag. "But if by tomorrow I don't have those pictures I'm telling this was all a set up!" and with that she left the two boys as they stood there in silence.

            Claudia shrank back as Mallory practically ran away from the scene. She remained hidden as she heard Scott and Daniels coming closer.

"Man! That stupid Pietro! He's always ruining things…. We can't give up those pictures Scott, they're the only thing we've got so Kitty will dump him!" Evan had a sulking face as he said this.

"I know man… don't worry, we'll figure something out. All we have to do is get those other pictures from Alvers and we're set. So let's go find him." 

Now both Scott and Daniels left the scene and Claudia was able to come out. Had she heard right? Were those three plotting against her lead actors!?!

~~ This madness must be stopped! ~~ thought the black haired girl as she stood and headed back toward the library.

********************************************** 

The cool breeze was hitting his face as he rested peacefully on top of a tree branch. His worries were finally gone, or at least they had diminished, as their plan was set in motion. Slowly he opened his dark eyes and continued looking over the student-filled yard, all those bodies simply looked like one big mass and he felt completely aside from them all.

~~ This has been one very exhausting day… ~~ thought the dark haired senior as he continued to watch over everything from his birds eye view.

            When he woke up this morning he definitely didn't know he was going to be teaming up with none other then the very pompous Jean Grey. But of course, his most surprising revelation was that the feelings he had for a certain southern girl were returned.

            He sighed as he closed his eyes and remembered the feeling of her tiny, gloved hand on his own. He knew he couldn't touch her… but just being near her was enough to give him Goosebumps. 

He opened his eyes once more and was surprised to see a couple of familiar figures near the school building. Kurt was apparently pulling on Todd's arm rather forcefully while the young freshman kept pulling the other way. 

Had it been anyone else, Lance would've stood up and tried to defend his younger teammate but he knew Kurt and Todd had started to develop a small friendship so the blue mutant was probably trying to get Todd to do something he had to do anyway.

His dark eyes continued to watch as the two boys kept getting closer to the tree where he sat. Once there he could make out small bits of their conversation.

"Let me go yo!" Todd kept pulling.

"It's not a big deal… just do it already!" Kurt also kept pulling.

"I'm never letting you get close to Pietro again!" Todd was starting to whine… he was giving in.

"I went to a lot of trouble to get that take-out! You better deliver it!" and with that the Blue mutant gave one final pull and Todd landed right into him. Kurt looked around and spotted their target in the farthest corner of the yard. He turned toward the dark-blonde boy and gave him a thumps up. 

"She's right there!… Go for it!" Kurt was on the verge of jumping from one foot to the other.

"Um… I don't know yo… she looks busy… maybe later…" Todd began to turn around but was soon caught by Kurt's hands on his shoulders.

"Oh no, none of that… she's not busy, she's hungry! Now deliver her salvation!" one thing Kurt never joked about was food.

"You know man, I'm surprised you're not as fat as Freddy..." 

"Yeah, I've wondered that too… must be the teleporting that keeps me in shape…"

"Really, and here I thought not actually walking to places usually made people sluggish…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean…. HEY! What are you doing?! Don't talk to ME! Go to _HER_!!!" Kurt began to push Todd away.

"Damn it! You weren't supposed to figure that out!" Todd now had no choice. After one final push from Kurt he found himself a few steps away from the one girl that had ever made him feel all funny…. In a good type of way.

            Lance moved up. Some branches were making it impossible to see where Todd had gone, but he knew this much… he was finally going to know who the mysterious love interest was.

            Unfortunately his brusque movements didn't go unnoticed by the Blue mutant who was also watching contently while hiding behind the tree.

"What are you doing here?" Kurt looked up at the oldest Brotherhood member…

"AAH!" … as he fell flat on the ground.

"Are you alright?" he smiled, offering his hand to the now very upset senior.

"Oh yeah… wonderful…" he took it and immediately hid behind the tree. "So let me get this straight… Todd is actually going to talk to a girl?"

"Yeah! …after some coaxing…" Kurt had to pull a lot to get him here.

            Lance looked around the place. Todd was slowly walking up to an isolated table, holding a brown paper bag that was apparently the take-out Kurt had mentioned earlier. This table was indeed set apart from the rest of the school, but sitting on it he finally saw the object of his affection. 

"How long has Rogue been sitting there?" asked Lance as he felt like an idiot. He could've walked over to her a long time ago.

"For a while… she missed lunch so Todd's going to give her some food." Kurt kept watching as he crossed his fingers. "I hope he doesn't get nervous…"

"Nervous? Why should he feel nervous?… I mean, it's not like he…. Oh my god!" Lance sat down with his back resting against the tree trunk as he processed this information.

*********************************************************

~~ I am seriously going to kick his ass… he is never going to hear the end of this!… how dare he make me wait for him all lunch period!?! I haven't eating anything yet!~~ Rogue kept mentally stabbing Lance as she kept waiting. It was too late to actually go and get some decent lunch, she figured she'd buy a bag of potato chips and be on her merry way.

            As she kept mumbling to herself she began to notice a most delicious aroma. 

~~ Is that… is that Chinese take-out!?! ~~ she quickly turned around and for the first time noticed she wasn't alone.

"Todd?… Hey, what are you doing over here?" she smiled… that pretty smile of hers.

"Umm… I…. Um…. Hi." He said as he finally got close enough.

"Sit down, my table is your table." She couldn't help but notice that the sweet aroma she had smelled before was coming from the small paper bag the young mutant was carrying. 

Apparently she had been starring at it for a bit too long so Todd placed it on the table and pushed it toward her.

"Oh!… what's in there?" she asked taking a small peek.

"Your lunch." Said Todd as he smiled up at her.

"Wow! Chinese take-out!… you brought this for me?!… but what about you?" Rogue began to take out the plastic cups.

"I already had lunch, this is for you…. I… I thought you might be hungry." He began to play with his fingers now.

"Oh Todd… that's so sweet!" she gently ruffled his hair and then quickly sat down again to appease her angry tummy.

"Um… no problem…" Todd had this silly smile on his face that almost made Rogue laugh, but she thought that would be mean.

"So, um… what have you been up to? I haven't see you at all today." She asked as the delicious smell of food filled the table.

"Actually, we did see each other today… but I guess you must've been too busy with Lance to notice." Todd hated to bring up his name.

"Oh… I'm so sorry Todd. I just really had to talk to him, it was important. You understand, right?" she smiled at him again.

"Sure… it's just…." He didn't know how to continue.

"Yes?…. it's just what?" she pressed on, now watching him carefully.

"Well, you do know that if you need anything I'm here for you… right?" the dark-blonde mutant kept his eyes fixed on Rogue's as if trying to mean more then what he said.

"Sure Todd… I know…"

"Cause Lance isn't the only one that can fix things, and he's not the only one that is all responsible and he's not the only one that you can count on." Todd was now avoiding her eyes as he kept rambling. 

His mind told him to stop but once he had mysteriously found the sufficient nerve to start saying all these things he knew he couldn't… he shouldn't, or else he might never have neither the strength nor the opportunity to tell her. 

"Todd, I know… I just…" she tried to talk but he continued.

"And you must know Rogue, you simply _must_ know that he's not the only one that cares about you."

An eerie silence set down among them.

**********************************************

Alex Notes:

More Toddy cuteness! ^_^

Todd: I told you to cut that out yo! 

Alex: aww! So cute!

Ok you wonderful readers you!… I still need some suggestions as to how to name these chapters…. (-_-;; would you believe it…)

And also, (I thought you should know) it has been proven that reviewing this story is good for the soul….. it fills you up inside in a good fluffy manner… makes you all happy! =^_^=    really….. 

Oh come on…. ~_^


	19. A Lovers Feud part 19

Authors note = I hope to finish this fic at some point in my life…. But of course, just writing: "They had the play. The End" doesn't seem like a crowd pleaser… -_-;;

Alex: Why can't I finish!? WHY?!!? *starts to bang head against a table*

Lance: Umm…. I dunno!… Stop doing that!

Todd: She's gonna knock herself out yo!

Pietro: *is eating pop corn*

*Lance and Todd stare at him*

Pietro: …… WHAT?!

Alex: I just keep writing and one thing turns into another and then …. I'll forever be writing! O_O

Lance: v_v;; Well, I hope not… I want to have a girlfriend in this fic.

Todd: She's MINE!

Lance: …….

Pietro: ^_^;;  *happly eating pop corn*

Alex: Ok…. Here we go! =^_^=

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 19**

She ran her delicate fingers along his fine hair as their lips met continuously. His left arm held her small waist as his right hand kept gently playing with loose strands of her brown hair.

            A few moments later their lips parted and they stood panting staring into each other's eyes. The reddish light of the photography darkroom created eerie shadows across their faces. Pietro gently placed his hand over Kitty's cheek and felt, rather then saw, her blushing.

"You, my dear, have interesting make-out spots." Said Pietro as he kept holding unto his girlfriend.

"Well, like… I knew no one would be here now. So why let it go to waste, right?" she kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I mean, it's no _boy bathroom_, but it'll do, right?"

"God, you're never going to forgive me for that, are you?" he smiled devilishly as he remembered the look on her face.

"Of course not, Mr. 'Never-say-I-don't-take-you-places'." She smiled again and began to kiss his lips. 

            Soon they were once more completely absorbed into each other. So much so, that neither of them noticed when the door opened and when two new figures entered the room… until one of them screamed.

"AAAHHH!!!" screamed the new voice.

"AAAHHH!!!" screamed Kitty.

"AAAHHH!!!" screamed Pietro.

"AAAHHH!!!" screamed Freddy.

"…. Freddy?" his friend's huge figure was unmistakable anywhere. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the two of you that same question!" came the voice of a very stressed out Jean Grey.

"Like, Jean… like, what are you like, doing here?" Kitty began to play with the end of her ponytail.

"I came to return a camera … now what do you two think you're doing?" Jean had her hands on her hips and was sternly looking at her younger teammate.

"Look, Jean… if you wish to make out with Freddy that's fine. But you MUST find another darkroom, this one is being used at the moment." Said Pietro matter-of-factly.

Jean began to blush and so did Freddy.

"That is not funny! I am _not_ laughing Maximoff!…. Stop giggling Kitty!" 

"Like, sorry…" the young freshman simply turned away since she couldn't stop herself.

"Now…" continued Jean when she felt more like herself. "We must get out of here… and really Kitty! You're too young to be making out like that!" 

"What?!" complained both Kitty and Pietro.

"Like, I am not a kid! And I can make out with whoever I choose!" she crossed her arms trying to sound very angry. 

"Namely _me_!" corrected Pietro.

"Oh, yeah, namely you…" Kitty gave him a small kiss.

"Whatever Kitty, but think you two can hold it until you go to the movies like normal teenagers?" Jean placed the camera on one of the long tables and quickly started walking outside.

"I believe we need a second opinion… Freddy, do you think Kitty can make-out, namely with me, where ever she wants?" asked Pietro as they all made their way out and into the hallway.

"Um…doesn't bother me…" answered the large mutant.

"Thank you!" Pietro smiled as Jean simply gave him 'the look'. 

~~Good thing only Kitty has any effect with that… ~~ thought the white haired boy as the four of them were now walking toward their different lockers… lunch period would soon be over.

            Unfortunately they were soon spotted and chased down by none other then the Mighty Duncan.

"Jean! Hey, JEAN! Wait up!" yelled the football player as he made his way toward his redheaded love interest.

"Oh great… I mean, HI Duncan! How are you?" Jean was trying to sound happy.

"Great, now that I've seen you." Replied Duncan while he gave her one of his 'smiles'

Pietro and Kitty rolled their eyes over such a lame line. Freddy was trying hard not to listen, in fear he would gag.

"Listen Jean, I waited after school for you yesterday…. But you never showed up. I hope you're ok." Duncan tried to give his complete attention to her, but his eyes still wandered over to Freddy as he asked himself what was the beautiful Jean Grey doing with this guy?

"Yesterday, we weren't supposed to meet yesterday Duncan." Jean would've remembered something like that.

"I knew it! That Wagner lied to me!… wait till I get him!" mental pictures of kicking Kurt's head like a football came to his mind.

"Oh… OH! Yes, I DID tell Kurt to tell you that! I'm sorry, it must've slipped my mind." Jean smiled as she tried to calm the aggressive jock.

"Bet you ten buck she'll kick Blue boy back at the Institute for this." Whispered Pietro into Kitty's ear.

"Like, no way I'm betting against _that_." She giggled a bit.

"Well, anyway Jean… this Friday I have to come for that little play the cheerleaders are making. I was wondering if you'd be my date for it?" All Duncan wanted was a little quality time.

"Um… well…. Sure, why not. I was planning on going anyway." 

"You were?!" Kitty asked as she stopped in the middle of the hallway. "What kind of moral support is it to show up?! I don't need to know you guys are going to like, be there!"

"Well, you can't expect us _not_ to go Kitty. We wish to be there for you. And besides, what's the big deal? We already know you and Maximoff are together." Jean had never thought Kitty wouldn't want them to go.

"Oh fine! Like whatever… do what you like." She stayed behind with her arms crossed. 

            Pietro sighed and walked over to her. He didn't mind if the others came or not, it was Mystique he was worried about. But surely he had to make Kitty see that.

"Well, if you don't want to act in front of your friends then maybe you should've left Mallory take the female lead." Duncan, along with the redheaded cheerleader, couldn't believe Claudia had chosen the bouncy freshman to stay.

"Like, what did you say?… I've been like, practicing for this for a very long time, you know." Kitty knew Mallory had an eye out for more then the play, so she quickly took hold of Pietro's arm as she spoke.

"You keep that crazy pom-pom girl away from me!" shouted Pietro as he didn't exactly mind Kitty's firm hold of his arm… or the lack of blood running through it because of it.

"Honestly Duncan, your stupidity amazes me." Came another voice from the end of the hall. "What do you think you're doing upsetting my male and female lead?" 

Claudia walked between her favorite actors and threw her arms over Kitty's and Pietro's shoulders.

"How are my babies doing?" she smiled…. This scared them.

"Hi…. Claudia…. Are you like, you know, alright?" Kitty wished to get away.

"Stress didn't make you _drink_ something, did it?" Pietro didn't move, it might anger the girl.

"I am fine!… but how are you two? Any problems?" As both Kitty and Pietro shook their heads Claudia was relived to know the pictures that Scott apparently possessed hadn't found their way toward Kitty yet.

"You know perfectly well Mallory deserved that role Claudia." Continued Duncan as if someone had been paying attention to him at all.

"You're annoying my actors! And anything that annoys my actors, annoys ME! So go away!" Claudia was very protective of her projects.

"She's very scary…" whispered Kitty into Pietro's ear.

"Let us hope that after Friday we have nothing more to do with her…" replied the white haired sophomore.

"You can't tell me what to do, I'm here with Jean!" he possessively placed his arm over her shoulder.

"Um, Duncan… no you're not. We'll talk later, alright." Jean moved aside.

"So we're set for Friday then! Too bad the play is gonna be bad, but as long as I'm with you…" Duncan kept making gogglie eyes at the telepath as she tried hard not to scream.

"Ok…. That's it! No one insults my play and gets away with it!…. DUKES!" Claudia pointed toward Duncan and Freddy knew exactly what to do.

"Hey!… HEY! Get your hands off me you big freak!" Duncan was suddenly thrown out an open window.

**********************************************************

            Scott Summers was in a very bad mood. He had everything planed, everything organized… but yet again Lance Alvers decided to butt in where no one called him and ruin everything. 

Evan wasn't in a very nice mood himself… the very thought of anything getting in the way of their anti-Pietro campaign was enough to drive him nuts.

Now all they needed was to find the annoying dark haired senior and take those new pictures of Freddy kissing Mallory away. Then their plan could continue as before.

"Where is he?! We've been looking a long time now, where is he hiding?!" Evan would've taken out some of his spikes out of pure anger if they weren't in the middle of the school.

"He has to be in the cafeteria…. Either that or the yard. Now remember Evan, I talk. Not you." Scott glanced around the different tables, most of them were already empty since lunch period was basically over. So they walked out of the main building and into the student mayhem that was the schoolyard. 

Everyone was gathered there… either doing last minute homework or laughing at practically anything. Such was the power felt on those last few minutes before the bell rang.

"Think he's in here?" asked Evan as he looked around, but without much success.

"Well, I don't think he left to go to his classroom early… so he must be hiding from us!" Scott quickly made his way toward one of the tables and stood on it getting a better view of the place.

"You see anything?" Evan was getting anxious.

"Evan! I haven't even looked at the whole place yet…. Oh, wait… I think I see Kurt…" Scott placed hand over his glasses to block out the sun and looked harder. "Yeah, it's Kurt… but he's not alone… he's with….." Scott immediately came down from the table and started walking to the back.

"Hey… what you saw Scott? Where's Kurt? He ok?" Evan didn't like this silent treatment.

"Kurt better be fine… but there's someone else who's not going to be." Said the senior X-men as he continued.

**********************************************

"I can't believe he did it! I only thought he was going to talk to her… maybe flirt a while… wait till I tell Pietro!!" Kurt was having fun.

"This is not my life, this is not my life…" Lance didn't dare look back up. 

            This was the girl Todd was so exited about? The one he took such pains to clean up his act for? The reason why he used most of his only cologne?!

            What was he going to do? Todd knew about his feelings for Rogue… the young boy had apparently taken them personally. Did Rogue care for Todd the same way she had led him to believe that she cared for him? He didn't think that… but at his wise age of 17 he knew better then to assume anything with the female gender.

Rogue's feelings for Todd were probably like his own… Todd was the youngest, the one who had to be cared for and looked after. Sure, the boy would argue that point… Pietro was usually the one that needed more supervision, and Todd was very responsible and smart… but he still looked young and small and within Lance's mind that would always make him the little brother he never had.

            How can he now, with a clear concise, seriously be thinking of being with Rogue knowing Todd has a crush on her?

"This is not my life, this is not my life…" he kept on babbling.

Kurt took a moment to look at the older boy and his eyes soften as he realized his troubles. "So… you like Rogue too?"

"Yeah… that's basically the drama here…" Lance kept looking at the grass. "Kurt, what am I going to do? What am I going to say to Todd?… or to Rogue?"

"Well…"  the blue mutant thought for a moment. "Maybe you first need to tell Todd how you feel… and accept to do whatever Rogue decides?" 

"Yeah, only she wont want to hurt his feelings…. I'm dead no matter which way I see it…"

"I'm glad you agree with me Alvers!" came the voice of Scott Summers.

*****************************************************

"Wow!… Todd…. Um… I don't know what to say…." Rogue couldn't swallow any more of her Chinese take-out.

            For his part Todd was now very embarrassed over what he had just done.

~~ So this is how I want to declare my undying love?… Over a cup of Chinese take-out? I'm such an idiot! ~~ Todd wished he could be anywhere but there right now.

"Look, I'm sorry I said that… I just wanted you to know… but it's not important… so… just, you know… keep eating before it gets cold… um… bye." He ran away from the table before Rogue could stop him.

Now all alone, with her take-out food, she thought over what she should do.

"This is not my life…" she said as she looked over the place where Todd had stood only a few moments ago.

***************************************************

"Now is not really the time Summers…" Lance still sat there looking directly at the red shades of his 'favorite person'.

"Kurt, are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?" asked Scott as he pulled the blue mutant away from the dark haired boy on the floor.

"Scott, what are you talking about? Of course I'm fine…" Kurt looked behind the older boy and saw Evan approaching. "Hi Evan…"

"So there you are! Give back those pictures!" Evan had completely forgotten about Kurt.

            Lance could see that Scott was right now angry with Evan and that Evan was now angry with him (take a number…) and that Kurt simply wanted to leave. Still, he remained glued to the floor, not really caring… Pietro couldn't be hurt any more by those pictures… unless these two wanted Mallory on their backs… he had bigger problems now.

"I thought I told you not to talk!" said Scott as he turned to look directly at his younger housemate. 

"Sorry, but lunch time is almost over and we need those pictures now!" Evan saw for the first time that they had company. "Hi Kurt…"

"Yeah, hello to you too." Answered the annoyed blue mutant. "What are you talking about? There're more pictures?" 

            Lance looked at Scott for a while.

"Kurt knows about the pictures?… damn way to keep a secret Summers!" The whole idea behind keeping those pictures was the threat of showing them… so much for that if Scott already went around showing them to his friends.

"We didn't show them… the others stole them and looked for themselves!" It wasn't Evan's fault if he had noisy housemates.

"Come on Alvers… hand over those pictures you took." Scott had no time to play games.

"And what on God's green Earth are you gonna do to make me?!" Lance stood up and was eye to eye with the other senior.

"You guys aren't going to fight now?… are you?" Kurt definitely didn't wish to be here.

"Of course not!" came the southern voice from behind the tree.

            Immediately both boys moved away from each other, giving back their personal space. Lance turned to look at the brown haired girl while Scott tried not to get angry.

            The bell rang at that moment signaling the end of what looked like a very long lunch period.

"We'll talk tomorrow Alvers." Came Scott's angry voice as he headed back toward the school with Evan and Kurt close behind.

            After a few minutes Lance and Rogue were completely alone, just as they had been that very same morning. Rogue didn't know what to say… had Lance heard? Did he know what happened with Todd? 

"So… did you… fix the problem you had with those pictures?" she asked, trying to force her mind off the younger boy.

"Um….. yeah… I, I did something…" Lance didn't know what to say either. "Listen Rogue…"

"Not now Lance." She stopped him. "Not now… let's… let's just focus on helping those two first. They're happy…… they deserve to be happy…." She said this last part in a whisper.

"Right… they, they do…" Lance turned around now, heading toward the school.

Suddenly he stopped and looked at her again. "But after that… after we make sure they're happy… we can… talk, right?" he sounded so hopeful.

"Yes Lance… after they're happy…" she began to walk away now, leaving a very thoughtful Lance behind.

 **************************************************************

**************************************************************

The stars in the sky were hiding behind a thick blanket of dark clouds. The promise of rain filled the night air as the cold wind blew through the window and into the dimly lighted bedroom. The entire atmosphere demanded nothing but peace and quiet, yet one excited youth thought otherwise.

"I can't believe she helped you!" said the blue-eyed boy as he continued to jump on the small bed, his white hair moving up and down his face. 

"Yeah… I never thought such a good little girl like Jean would do something like that… Pietro, would you stop jumping on my bed?" Lance was sitting on his small wooden desk and wanted nothing more then to rest. 

However, the minute the young sophomore came home from his last day at rehearsals he demanded to know what had been done about the current picture problem.

"We should go out and celebrate!" cried the boy as he kept jumping.

"I'm kind of tired Pietro… maybe you could celebrate by jumping on the couch!" anything to get him gone.

"You are so not fun… besides we have more then one reason to celebrate… or haven't you heard?" Pietro stopped jumping and quickly landed like a cat next to Lance's dresser where he began to look at his hair.

"Oh?… and what's the other reason?" the dark haired boy was almost nodding off to sleep right there on the uncomfortable chair.

"Todd finally talked to the current 'love of his life!'" Pietro grabbed the closest pillow and began to hug it intensely. "Oh, I love you! I love you!" he began to passionately kiss the pillow.

"Wow Pietro… I thought you got enough of that from Kitty, but if you need to get some loving else where…" Lance ducked just in time to avoid being hit by the loving pillow.

"I'll have you know that Kitty is a wonderful kisser and I do not need to look anywhere else for any 'loving'." Once again Pietro headed toward the bed but this time sat down on it like a normal person would. "I'm just glad he finally got the nerve to talk to her… well, in all truth he had to be dragged there… but I'm glad anyway."

"Yeah… I'm glad too…" Lance got up and walked to the window. He enjoyed the cool breeze for a few minutes before turning back to his friend. "Have you talked to Todd tonight?"

"Um?…. well, not yet. Came up to see you first… but don't worry, I'll ask every tiny detail and then I'll inform you. If you pay me ten bucks." His blue eyes were filled with mischief.

"That's ok Pietro, I'll live without the details…" Lance didn't wish to think about that problem yet.

"Aw! You're not fun… fine, five bucks, but that's my final offer!" Pietro was almost pouting on the bed.

Lance simply gave him a sideways glance… then returned to look out the window.

"Fine!… I'll tell you for free! But only cause I need someone to tell!…. think I can charge Freddy?" the white haired boy began to bounce on the bed.

"Um… Pietro, why are you so active today?… you're not usually this bad…" the older boy's dark eyes kept vigil over the abuse the springs on his bed were being given.

"Well…. Claudia kinda had this small 'Give-it-your-best-on-Friday' party…" Pietro moved his hand toward his mouth at his next words since he knew he had done something naughty. "… and I ate some cookies!"

            Lance held his face in his hands as the small pains of a headache began to appear. Pietro for his part was laughing maniacally.

*******************************************************

            Todd allowed the wind to move his unruly hair as he sat on his bed thinking over his day's events. He never thought he'd be telling Rogue about his feelings today… or any other day for that matter. But between Pietro's excited encouragement and the threat of Lance winning her before he did, he basically had no choice.

~~ Stupid Lance… ~~ he thought as he hugged his knees tighter. 

~~ How could he do this to me?… ~~ 

            Even though he had expressed how he felt he knew Rogue already loved Lance more. Still… it was worth a shot… 

~~ Yeah right… what kind of a no-brainer situation am I throwing at her? 'Gee Rogue, you could have a big, muscular, dark haired senior or the love of your life in the shape and size of a small, skinny freshman!… The choice is yours.' ~~

            Todd's night wasn't getting any better. 

Suddenly he heard a knock on his door. Too calm to be Pietro and too gentle to be Lance…

"Come in Freddy." Todd immediately moved to a corner of his bed.

"Hey Todd…" the huge mutant came in and comfortably sat next to his smaller friend. "Heard you had a good day today?"

"Yeah?… it's a good thing you told me Freddy, I might've never found out otherwise." The young mutant grabbed his pillow and began to hug it instead of his knees.

"Pietro came through the house a few minutes ago singing _'Todd has a girlfriend'_. I didn't know if to believe him or not…" Freddy could see the look of hurt on the boy's face. "I mean, you know how Pietro is…"

"I'm perfectly capable of getting myself a girlfriend!… of course it doesn't help if other people are trying to steal them away from me." Todd had took it personally.

"I didn't mean _you_ couldn't get a girlfriend… I just meant that Pietro isn't always a reliable source… he looked like he had some sugar…" Freddy didn't wish to upset his friend.

"Fine, whatever… just… just let me sleep now, ok Freddy?" he turned around, not wanting to face anything right now other then his bed.

"Ok Todd… just thought you'd like to talk about it… but I'll go now if you…"

"You know, it's just not fair. Here I've always liked Rogue since the first day she came and now suddenly Mr. Great Lance Alvers is the man of her dreams. I mean, I'm not even sure he really likes her… what if he's using her or something?! I mean, I know I would be way better for her… I'd really take care of her and I would take her out and we would have fun… but she's not going to want me while bad-boy Lance is waiting for her." 

            Todd finished talking now and stood starring into Freddy's eyes. He needed to take that out of his chest and into someone who would listen and give him some good advice.

"He does care for her…" was all Freddy said.

"What?" 

"Lance… he cares for her. He's not using her. So you don't have to worry about that." Freddy stood up once more and headed toward the door. "Well… goodnight."

"Hey! Wait up a sec… What do you mean 'good night'? You can't just leave me like this!  Is that your great help?!… What am I supposed to do now?" 

            Fred stopped and turned to look at the young boy… he wished he could do or say something that would fix things for him, but the truth was he knew Rogue's affection for him were merely those of a concerned older sister.            

"Maybe you could do Lance a favor…" Freddy hoped Todd was mature enough to allow the feelings of others to rise above his own.

"WHAT?!… I'd rather lock myself up with a sugar crazed Pietro before I simply _give_ him Rogue!"

~~ It was worth a shot… ~~ thought Freddy as he opened the door and stepped outside into the empty hallway.

            Now, if only he could reach his room without getting involved in the crazy fight that was taking place down at the kitchen…

"Damn it Pietro! Stand still!" that was Lance's voice.

"No! You're not gonna catch me!" that was Pietro.

            Suddenly a strong gust of wind filled the hallway and Freddy found himself being hit by something… he looked down only to see Pietro spread out on the floor while holding his head.

"Ouch! Freddy!… you're blocking my escape route!" shouted the 'too active' boy.

"Sorry about that…."

"FREDDY! Don't let him get away!" shouted Lance from the other end of the hallway.

            Just as Pietro got up and tried to escape into a nearby room he felt Freddy's strong hands holding his arms.

"HEY! Not fair! Let me go! Let me go!!!" the white haired boy kept kicking and screaming like a three year old who didn't wish to drink his medicine.

"Now Pietro… listen to me…. You need to drink this… it'll calm you down…." Lance was trying to remain calm himself.

"You're trying to poison me!" shouted Pietro.

"The thought did cross my mind…" Lance decided to think out-loud right now…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" shouted Pietro.

"Damn it! It's just warm milk!… take it so we may all sleep at least two hours tonight!" the dark haired boy had this look of 'why me?' all over his face.

"I'M NOT DRINKING IT! YOU WANT TO KILL ME! I'M …. Uufffff!" 

            The plastic cup was forcefully placed between Pietro's lips.

"Now… don't spill it…. It's just warm milk…. It's nummy!" said Lance as would any other good mother. 

            Both Freddy and Pietro raised an eyebrow at the mention of the word 'nummy'.

"What?!… _some_ people say words like that when dealing with _children_!" Lance was giving Pietro the evil eye.

"_Healthy_ people don't use the word 'nummy'." Corrected Freddy.

"Aff noff aff chiff!!!" Pietro was trying to talk, but unfortunately only the bubbles coming from the milk could be heard.

"What?" Lance took the cup away for a few seconds.

"I'M NOT A CHILD!" repeated the white haired boy as the plastic cup was once again placed over his mouth.

"Then drink this and get it over with!" Lance waited for a while.

            Pietro knew that neither Freddy nor Lance would leave until he drank at least some of it. So slowly… very slowly… he began to drink. 

            He felt a soothing sensation as the warm liquid made its way down his throat and too soon he found himself being released and the plastic cup being pulled away.

"Hey! I wasn't finished!" cried Pietro as he felt the absence of his drink.

"Pietro, you drank it all… if you want some more I could make it for you…" Lance could already see the blue-eyed boy slowly down his gestures.

"Nah… that's ok… you can make me some more in the morning…along with bacon and eggs." Pietro stretched and yawned as he turned toward his bedroom.

Soon all that was heard was the gently 'click' of his door closing and a relieved sigh from Lance's lips.

"For a minute there I thought I had to tie him up again… thanks Freddy…" suddenly Lance noticed a light coming from an open door but just as he was turning Todd's door closed and they could hear the young boy locking it behind him to avoid any visitors.

            Sooner or later he had to talk to him... but obviously not tonight. 

****************************************************

=^_^= Hope you all like. I have a couple of chapters written already, so I can at least update soon. (That's a miracle where I'm concerned, isn't it? *^_^*)

Soooooo…. Anyway. I'll update soon!

*cheers and applause are heard from the audience*

Alex: Thank you! Thank you!

Pietro: …about time…

Lance: yeah, really.

Todd: I've been waiting for ages!

Alex: Did you boys say something?

Lance & Todd: Nothing!! *sweet smiles*

Pietro: Well, I said….

Lance: NOTHING!

Todd: Shut up yo!! … or she'll make Kitty dump you.

Pietro: O_O

Alex: ^_^; 


	20. A Lovers Feud part 20

Ok…. Here's the next one ^_^

Yes, I had mentioned I would post every Sunday (for at least 2 Sundays more) but my internet committed temporary suicide. 

*Lance, Pietro & Todd (all dressed in black) put sad, sad faces*

Alex: but it's alive now…

Lance: finally…

Todd:  ^_^

Pietro: YEY! YEYEYEYEYEY!!!  ^.^

Lance & Todd:  v_v;;

Alex: ^_^

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

**Chapter 20**

            A trace of last nights rain was still visible by the light gray clouds that still lingered in the sky. No one wished to go to school (as usual), and everyone at the Institute was either walking around like zombies or still in bed holding on tightly to their sheets and to the denial of the fact that they had to get up.

            Everyone that is, except for two very excited roommates.

"He did what?!?!" Kitty couldn't believe it. She was sitting on her bed, brushing her long ponytail, before they headed down to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Yeah… I don't know what to do Kitty… I mean… I don't wish to hurt his feelings…" Rogue had confided in the young freshman her problems about the very unsuspected declaration of love she had receive the day before.

"Like, I can't believe it…." Kitty kept brushing her hair.

"I know… me neither…"

"Here I have Scott like, totally angry with Pietro and like, you have TWO Brotherhood guys all over you! You're so like, greedy…" Kitty ducked in time to avoid a brush to hit her face. "I was like, kidding, you know…" she said between giggles.

"Well, I'm not…. I only hope Todd and Lance aren't fighting or anything…" the brown haired girl sat on her bed looking out the window watching as the clouds moved by.

*************************************************

"Freddy! That's _my_ piece of toast!" Pietro's hand moved at super speed and grabbed it before it reached his friends mouth.

"But!… you already ate four!" Freddy needed a strong meal.

"But I'm still hungry!" Pietro broke it in half and gave the smaller part to his friend.

"Gee… thanks…" Freddy looked at his half with less then desirable eyes.

"Never say I don't share with you guys!" the white haired boy zoomed to the fridge where he took out the milk and began to pour himself a cup.

            Meanwhile Lance had been pretending to read the newspaper as he waited for Todd to come down. He knew he'd be getting the cold treatment from his friend and hoped they could talk about their situation soon.

"Oh no Pietro… that is _my_ bacon!" yelled Freddy as he took the plate away.

"LANCE! Freddy doesn't want to share!!" the white haired boy ran to stand at Lance's side as the older boy tried in vain to pretend he hadn't heard anything.

"LANCE!" he shouted again.

"…. Pietro?…." Lance didn't take his eyes off the paper.

"Freddy is stealing my breakfast!" the sophomore hanged on to the sleeve of Lance's shirt as he pleaded.

"You've ate enough bacon, eggs and toast to feed four men… I'm sure you can spare some for Freddy…"

"You just like him best!" Pietro pouted.

"Yeah, that's it…" replied Lance while still pretending to be reading his newspaper.

Todd was sitting down at the edge of the stair listening as his friends continued to argue over the amount of breakfast each of them deserved… well, at least Pietro was arguing over that. 

He heard as Lance tried to appease their hyperactive friend with his wise babble. 

~~ They all think Lance is so great…. ~~ thought the youngest boy. ~~_Lance will solve all our problems cause he's older and smarter_… more like he _causes_ most of our problems…~~ 

He got up… it was nearly time for them to head to school and he still needed his breakfast. He only hoped Lance wouldn't try to talk to him right now.

Slowly he walked down the stairs, Pietro had apparently gotten tired of fighting over more bacon and was now busy searching through Lance's backpack for the car keys.

"I just don't see why you always have to drive… I can drive too, you know!" Pietro began to take books out from the older boys bag.

"PIETRO! For the last time, the keys aren't in there, I'm not letting you drive, you don't even _have_ a license and I always drive cause it's _my_ car!" Lance was busily rescuing the few books his backpack actually had before Pietro simply left them there and he would forget them. 

"But I CAN drive!" pleaded the white haired boy as he began to pout.

"Yeah, right into a lamp post!" Lance had a few previews experiences with Pietro's driving abilities.

"That only happened once! I got distracted!"

"Uh huh… and that old lady didn't help much, did she Pietro?…" Freddy added as he happily ate his rescued bacon.

"That's right! She was in the way!" Pietro stopped talking and looked at his larger friend… now he wasn't sure if Freddy's comment had been for his aid or if it had been said in a sarcastic matter.

            Lance was rubbing his head slightly as he once again prepared his school bag. Among all the commotion no one seemed to notice that Todd had arrived. The young boy was glad for once that Pietro was such an attention seeker.

"Hey Todd! Don't you think I should drive to school today?" 

~~ Well, so much for going by unnoticed… ~~ thought Todd as he winced over how loud Pietro talked.

            Lance's head shot up. Todd was in the room… how could he have missed that? His brown eyes took every body movement from his smallest friend; the way his green eyes looked over Pietro as if deciding what to do… and then the sudden change as those same eyes landed on him. 

Todd seemed relaxed… his eyes searching every detail of Lance's troubled face. 

~~ He knows… ~~ was all he could think of… why else would the dark haired senior look so apprehensive.

"Of course you should drive. Lance shouldn't be the one controlling _everything_ around here." And with that simple statement Todd opened the fridge and began searching for his breakfast… that and the cool air felt very refreshing against his somewhat hot face.

            An eerie silence fell on the room at that moment. Pietro for his part was baffled; personally he didn't even think the younger boy would side with him. But that last critical statement done on Lance's part showed that his decision for Pietro to drive might've been a bit biased.

            Freddy kept eating, but he took a small moment to simply look at Todd's back as the boy pretended to search the fridge. He shook his head then… things weren't going to be ok for a while.

            Lance simply stood there. His dark brown eyes showed the slightest hint of sadness even though he wished to conceal it. He didn't bother to correct the youth that Mr. Maximoff had no license, that the reason he controlled the car was because it was his and that if any other member of the Brotherhood deserved to drive that would be Freddy… the only other member with both a license and the common sense not to aim the car toward senior citizens. 

            Nevertheless he remained quiet, wishing he could make things right between them. 

**************************************************************

The ride to school wasn't very enjoyable for anyone. Freddy, as always, sat on the back watching over all his friends even though they never seemed to notice. 

He saw Pietro on his usual spot on the passengers seat looking somewhat upset… or rather a better word would be confused. The white haired boy didn't understand what was wrong now… Lance had fixed his 'Mallory picture' problem and Todd had finally talked to the girl of his dreams… 

why then was Todd upset? 

Why was Lance upset? 

Why couldn't he drive to school?… he simply didn't get it.

Freddy watched as Lance's sad eyes kept looking at Todd through the rearview mirror. The guy just couldn't have a break… and Freddy found that with each passing day he discovered new things that deepen the respect he felt toward his older friend.

Todd, for his part, was sitting beside him looking out the window. He held no facial expression, yet his eyes said everything as they kept searching the passing scenery for some sort of answer to his dilemmas. 

As the car approached the school's parking lot he began to see the numerous smiling children as they headed to the entrance and briefly wondered what it would be like to have a life without problems. 

"Hey Lance, could you give me 60 bucks?" Pietro looked so angelic as he asked.

            Lance didn't move… if he didn't move he could pretend Pietro hadn't just asked that. 

~~ Not one for timing, are you Pietro?… ~~ thought Freddy as he mentally winced.

"Lance… did you hear me?" the sophomore waved his hand rapidly in front of the senior's face to which Lance kept paying no attention.

"Why would you need $60 for?" Freddy finally asked seeing Lance was still hoping he hadn't heard right.

"Well, I need to get Kitty a present!" Pietro looked carefully over at his large friend. "I don't suppose _you _have $60?"

"No, I don't…" he answered quickly in order to avoid more questions from Pietro. "Why don't you just buy her a card and sign it _'With my undying love'_? or something… it would be cheaper." Freddy didn't think Lance could spare that kind of money.

            Pietro of course didn't ever think Lance would give him anything, he simply needed to start talking about something in order to break the dreadful silence that had settled over all of them. However, they were all surprised when a forth voice suddenly spoke up.

"He shouldn't do that!" Todd exploded from the back seat causing everyone to jump a little. "Kitty's his girlfriend! He loves her! He should buy her something nicer then a stupid card!… unless of course…" and as he said this his green eyes stared at the back of the dark haired boy's head. "…Lance doesn't _approve_ of others showing how much they care for another person…"

            Pietro kept quiet. His great plan to start conversation among his friends seemed to have proven not so brilliant. Freddy also kept quiet simply watching what Lance would do next. 

~~ If it had been me, Lance would've been screaming at me to shut up… but no such treatment toward baby Todd… ~~ thought Pietro as he waited to see what would happen.

            Lance took a deep breath… surely some weird sadistic god up there had his eye on him. Nevertheless, he would not yield to his childish desire to simply yell at Todd to leave him alone… that would be ineffective… it always was. Instead he took another calming breath before he finally turned slightly toward the white haired boy.

"I don't have $60 on me right now, but after school you could go to the mall, pick something nice and drop by my job for the money." That was all he said before taking the keys off the car and walking away.  

            Now three young teenage boys were left inside a car, none of them looking very happy about anything at the moment.

*********************************************************

            In Bayville High things were very simple. You were either cool or you were not. The definition of 'cool' mostly depended on who you hanged out with. Those in sports and other school activities were mostly considered 'cool'. If you knew at least a handful of these type of people then you were 'cool' by association. 

However, if at least one of the above mentioned 'cool' people picks on any person, then that person is considered to be on the lowest possible link of the popularity scale. Those are the persons jocks pick on because they're different; shorter, younger, poorer… any type of different would do… 

And of course, part of the simplicity of life at Bayville High was that it was never questioned which side would win an argument. The 'cool' crowd always won… the not 'cool' crowd always lost… that was the beauty of it… so we must all understand that when one of the 'cool' crowd feels threaten by another belonging to a lower scale… well, things just aren't right inside that person's world… therefore they seek the help of others within their own social scale to aid them.

"So, you know what you must do?" asked Mallory as she innocently played with a loose strand of her hair.

"Yeah… nothing I'm not used to doing every once in a while…" answered the blonde football player as he happily imagined the fun he was going to have.

"The difference now Duncan, is that you will be doing it for a purpose bigger then your own self amusement… now, I can count on you, right?" she asked firmly and waited for the jock to nod.

"Yeah…" he nodded "You can count on me…" 

             So as you can see… in Bayville High things were very simple.

************************************************************

            Kurt had been trying throughout the whole morning to find the elusive white haired boy. Yesterday after school he had managed to tell him about Todd and how the younger boy had talked to Rogue. Unfortunately the speedster's lack of patience didn't allow him to say the most important part: the fact that Lance was involved, now making it a love triangle.

~~ These things are always so complicated… ~~ thought the blue mutant as he walked toward Mr. Smith's class.

            He hoped Pietro hadn't said anything to upset Todd or Lance… but considering who he was talking about it was less then likely. As Kurt entered his next class he hardly had time to look around for the blue-eyed boy before their teacher came and made his presence known to the world.

"Alright! SIT DOWN! Lunch period is _after_ my class, NOT now!" apparently Mr. Smith was angry because of something.

            All happy conversations stopped suddenly as everyone quickly took their seats not wanting to upset the one person who ruled over the way they would spend the following hour of their lives.

            Most of the chairs were filled… with the exception of… no, wait. After a strong gust of wind that chair seemed to have filled itself.

"Pietro!" Kurt tried to scream and remain quiet at the same time… neither of those seemed to work very well.

"Yes?" replied the white haired boy as he casually looked over his text book… which was upside down.

"You can't do _that _around here!" Kurt didn't wish to sound like the 'ever-worrying' Scott right at this moment, but surely there were some times when mutant powers were definitely not to be seen. 

"Oh God Kurt… you're not going to turn into Lance now, are you?" Pietro didn't even want to hear the answer.

"No, of course not. It's just…" Kurt didn't have a chance to finish as Mr. Smith began to distribute a dangerously looking paper.

"Do any of you know what this is?" asked the teacher as he sat down on his desk waiting for all the paper to be distributed.

            Pietro looked at it for a while, eyes wide in disbelieve.

"No! It can't be!" he said.

            Kurt clasped his hair in astonishment and didn't let go.

            Rogue looked at the piece of paper and voiced what everyone else was thinking.

"Oh CRAP!" not even her southern accent made that sound nice.

"That's right! A quiz!" Mr. Smith looked happy about the discomfort he was causing among his students. "It has come to my attention, through a useless evaluation this school just _has _to make, that I'm a very bad teacher…" 

            Pietro swallowed. He began to sweat a little. Surely this wasn't his fault… surely.

"So, I have decided to show just how bad I can be." Their teacher had gone mad! "If any of you had actually studied, then I'm sure this will be no problem…. So? What are you waiting for? Start answering!"

            Kurt looked over the ten very ugly questions and thought long and hard for a while. Suddenly he came to a conclusion.

"I have absolutely no idea." He said and began to pull on his hair slightly.

Rogue was biting hard on her pencil.

~~ So I'm supposed to help Pietro and Kitty with their relationship, manage my own very disturbed life and somehow find the time to study?! Is he MAD!? ~~ 

Rogue looked up then and she could've sworn she almost heard their teacher chuckle. 

~~ Yep, he's mad… ~~

            Pietro began to think of an appropriate pattern for his answers.

~~ Two A's, four C's, one D and three B's…. now, all I have to do is write them making a nice picture and … oh no! … this isn't multiple choice!~~

            Any chance at Pietro passing the quiz was suddenly largely diminished.

By the end of their class the three mutants had been so mentally exhausted that their minds simply screamed to leave the room as quickly as possible. The idea of having lunch seemed like a good one now regardless of what they were serving.

"I… I think all knowledge has just left my brain…" said Kurt as he continued to hold on to his hair.

"Well, that didn't take very long, did it?" Pietro was, of course, being very 'Pietro' about everything.

"When the knowledge on how to insult you comes back, I'll answer…" the blue mutant simply leaned against the lockers as he waited for Rogue to come out.

"If that's the case then I'm sorry to say I don't know how you're going to reach me after such a long time." The blue-eyed boy stuck his tongue out and Kurt followed suit.

"Very mature Blue-boy… well, I'm off to lunch." Pietro left leaving behind nothing more but a huge gust of wind. 

*****************************************************

            Todd was just coming out of his last class for that morning and was amazed at how the day seemed so long and boring. If his next couple of tests had anything at all to do with 'evil Lance' and 'the beautiful southern girl', then he knew he might actually pass. Unfortunately his tests would most likely be about everything he had tuned out during class.

"Stupid Lance…" he said under his breath as he continued to walk toward Pietro's locker where he would meet with the others.

The last person he wanted to have lunch with right now was Lance, but he thought he'd at least do the line with them and later go away.

In truth, he wasn't really hungry… he did feel somewhat tired, but not hungry. If he could he would've gladly simply stayed home today, but he decided to come if only to see Rogue from a distance… and not let Lance talk to her, of course.

"Always has to get what he wants… as if he didn't have girls lining up to be with him!" True, this applied mostly to Pietro, but it also applied to Lance on some degree.

"I'm not ever going to talk to him… ever! Pretending to be so concerned… I know better now… I'm never trusting him again!"

            Todd would've kept walking, if he suddenly hadn't fond himself without any more hallway to walk on.

"Hey Toad… we have to have a little talk." Came the voice of Duncan Matthews as other huge-sized jocks gathered around the small freshman.

~~ This is just not my day… ~~ thought the green-eyed boy as he sighed in defeat.

************************************************

            Lance was leaning against the lockers as he waited for two of his housemates to arrive. He was sure Pietro was just goofing off somewhere and had forgotten he had his friends waiting for him to have lunch. As for Todd however, he didn't even know if the little one would show. He wouldn't be surprised if he didn't.

            Freddy was standing beside him, waiting with all the patience he could muster, he was hungry after all.

"Where are they?" he asked the oldest boy as he tried not to let his irritation show… he wasn't very good at it.

"I'm sure Pietro will be here soon… and… I'm not sure Todd's coming." Lance kept his eyes glued to the end of the hallway, hoping to see the small sandy-haired boy hopping around the corner.

"Have you talked to him?" asked the big mutant, concerned.

"How? He avoids me all the time… not to mention I just can't seem to be alone with him." Lance hated this… he hated it when he fought with Pietro but he had never had such a long disagreement with Todd. And now, to suddenly have such a strong barrier between himself and his adopted little brother… it was eating him alive.

"I'm sure Todd will get over it… he just needs a little time." Freddy was trying to sound hopeful. 

"Whatever happens between Rogue and Todd is their business… I'm just worried about other things…" Lance put up a tough looking face now and Freddy knew any other conversation about the matter was closed.

The silence that came between them was thankfully short as the white-haired boy quickly made his way to his locker where he found his friends waiting for him.

"Hey! Great! We can go eat now! I'm hungry!" Pietro began to jump around Fred who seemed both very happy to be leaving and very annoyed to have been waiting.

"What took you so long?" asked Lance as Pietro kept jumping.

"Had a quiz… couldn't leave that fast." Said the jumping Pietro.

"So how was it?" Lance, as the oldest, saw it his job to ask such questions to the others.

"Oh, you kidding… piece of cake… hehehe… couldn't have been easier… I just need to go and fix a few thing later and I'll have an A for sure…" The blue-eyed boy stopped his movements for a minute and looked around. "Hey, where's Todd?"

"I… I don't think he's coming…" Lance answered as he stepped away from the lockers and began to move toward the cafeteria.

"Ooooh! Probably wanted to go find his new girlfriend! Yep, another love match thanks to Pietro Maximoff!" the sophomore kept walking about unaware of the winces he caused to both his friends. Freddy's was clearly visible on his face, but Lance wince was more mental then anything.

~~ I have to talk to Rogue… I just have to have this straighten out… I can't stand another day like this, I just can't! ~~ Lance continued his fast paced trail after the young sophomore as Freddy followed.

************************************************

            Scott Summers had a problem. No, it wasn't that his sessions in the Danger Room had become less strategic and more thoughtless violence (something which Logan had told him to control this morning), it wasn't that he was hungry and his only lunch looked disgusting, it wasn't even that Jean had promised she'd go to the play with Duncan instead of with him… no, no… it wasn't anything like that. 

His problem however, had a name (which he hated) and a last name (which he also hated) Lance Alvers.

            He possessed pictures of Pietro kissing Mallory (or the other way around) which he wanted to use as a weapon to stop the egotistical Maximoff from dating his young and innocent teammate. But now Alvers had pictures of Mallory kissing Freddy (or the other way around) which stopped him from using his first set of pictures in fear of Mallory admitting it was all a hoax in order to save herself from the 'Freddy pictures'. Thus making Scott and Evan look really, really bad. 

            Sounds complicated?… Well, so was finding a solution.

            Scott was picking at his food for a while, Jean was eating away happily, Evan was busy doodling something on his skateboard and Kitty was making strange faces as she too tried to eat her meal.

"Like, where do you suppose Kurt and Rogue have gone?" asked Kitty as she took a break from her food.

"They'll be here soon I guess, don't worry Kitty." Answered Jean as she smiled back to her teammate and continued to eat.

"Yeah man, but they better hurry. I'm just bored here." Evan tried to eat something and immediately regretted it. 

"Yeah Evan, I'm sure that's exactly what's on Kurt's mind right now, how to get here sooner just to amuse you." Scott kept think about his current problem by himself while Evan and Kitty began to talk about… who knows what…. He did hear Kitty say: 'Ew! Gross!' a few times, so he more or less knew the subject at hand.

            Suddenly he turned around to face the red haired junior as she was finishing her lunch.

"Jean, I need some advise." He said trying to sound desperate.

"Of course Scott, tell what's wrong." Immediately Jean gave him her full attention.

"Well, I have this friend who took some pictures, right? But now he can't use those pictures because of another set of pictures going around. So, what could my friend do so he could use his first set of pictures without worrying about the second ones?" Scott was hopefully waiting for an answer.

"Well…." began Jean "I would tell 'your friend' to… Stop being a baby Scott!" the red head narrowed her eyes and looked exasperated at her oldest friend. "Really, I mean when are you going to let this stop?" She looked around making sure Kitty and Evan were entertained in something else, then she said in a whisper: 

"They're happy together Scott. Kitty will leave Pietro when he does something wrong, but so far he's been real nice about everything. Besides, what are you planning to do? Keep taking pictures of everyone until it all turns into a vicious cycle? This has to stop."

            And with that Jean stood up and left. She had more important things to do.

~~ What a great idea!… Keep taking pictures! ~~ thought Scott who hadn't apparently been paying much attention.

*************************************************

"Oh man Rogue… your situation stinks." Was all the hopeful advise Kurt could give her.

"Oh gee, thanks Kurt." She said as they both stood in the cafeteria line.

"I mean, I'm sorry for what all of you are going through… have you decided what you're going to do?" Kurt was cheering for Todd, but he knew better.

"No… and I'm tired of thinking about it… I'm just going to let things cool down for a while Kurt." Said the brown haired girl as she picked up an apple. "But things just don't look good…"

            Kurt didn't say anything back. What could he say? He only hoped no one got hurt too badly.

*************************************************** 

            She wasn't hungry. She was too busy to be hungry. She had too much to do. While all her actors simply enjoyed their last day before the play started Claudia had to arrange everything. The decorations, the sitting arrangements for the special guests, the judges table, some gift baskets for said judges (which would only be given if Bayville won, of course). 

Claudia could've asked for help, but she found other people simply stood in her way. Things worked better and faster if she worked alone. However, there was this one very crucial problem she desperately needed help with.

            The well being of her actors, especially a day before their grand debut, was of extreme importance to her. And knowing her male and female lead were on the edge of some major problems would cause a major drawback on their performance… that simply could not be allowed.

            She worked quietly for a few more minutes. The coldness of the library hardly bothering her, although what was annoying her at times was her long black hair since if stubbornly refused to move anywhere else other then in her face.

~~ Where is she?! ~~ she wondered as she kept making plans and arranging things in her personal notes. Her time was limited and she needed every bit of it to make things better. She was suddenly relieved when she noticed she wouldn't have to wait any longer.

"Finally." She said as she brushed her dark hair back.

"Yes, sorry. It took me a while to loose Duncan. I'm worried he has some sort of tracking device on me." Said Jean Grey as she approached the table where Claudia was working. The whole surface of the 'very big' table was completely covered… small load of work where Claudia was concerned.

"How can you stand it here? It's just too cold." Asked the red head as she sat next to the dark haired senior.

"That's what makes it perfect. Hardly any one comes here." Said Claudia cheerfully but soon became serious as it was time for business. "Did you bring them Jean?"

"Of course, I only hope they'll help you with something." Jean handed the other girl a legal sized envelop. 

"Perfect! This will do just fine. Now, you really should go, I have lots to do before tomorrow." Claudia placed the envelope inside her backpack securely and continued with her stack of papers.

"Hopefully, if this turns out ok, we'll both be rid of a nuisance." Said the young telepath as she made her way out of the library.

"Hopefully Grey, hopefully." Claudia kept on working.

**********************************************

********************************************** 

            He was in the bathroom now. 

He was safe here, right? 

Funny, he couldn't stop the feeling that they were still around him somehow. 

~~ Well, five huge guys will do that to a person… ~~ he thought as he gently touched his black eye.

            When Duncan had found him in the hallway, along with the other four jocks, he thought it was simply another day of 'Humiliate Todd' by pushing him around and laughing. But when they dragged him to the other side of the school, the one opposite to the crowded cafeteria, he knew that this would be a real beating.

Still, he never thought it would hurt like this. Funny, you would assume a beating would hurt like hell, yet how much 'hurt' must be applied to qualify as 'hell'?

Todd was almost sure he had somehow passed that category.

            And as if the beating alone wasn't enough, he also had to hear as Duncan explained the reason behind it. And wont you believe it, non other then Lance Alvers was the cause of such treatment.

It seemed Lance had somehow pushed the jock community too far and these stupid jocks, instead of fighting the tough looking, dark haired senior, had decided to beat his small, freshman friend.

~~ I'm a 'message' for Lance… God, where are we? Some old Italian mafia movie?! ~~ thought the light-brown haired boy as he continued to gently touch his wounds behind the locked bathroom stall. 

He had been there for most of the lunch period. The beating itself  had only taken around fifth teen minutes… of course, five muscular seniors vs one small freshman could do a lot of damage in fifth teen minutes. 

He was afraid to leave now, afraid people would look at him. Another funny thought, no one ever looked at him when he wanted them to, but the one day he suddenly wanted to hide completely and he knew his black eye would shine ever so brightly.

He didn't want people seeing him now, specially anyone he knew. His nose and clothes all bloody, his left eye black, his shirt torn… thankfully, since he always wore his long sleeved shirt he could hide the purple marks that were no doubt forming at this very minute.

His plan was to stay put until the bell had rang, that way everyone would have been off to class and he could get his things, leave a note on Freddy's locker(so the others wouldn't wait for him) and start walking home.

The waiting wasn't helping though. It gave him time to think. He didn't want to think. He knew he'd start to cry if he thought too much. He couldn't let those jocks have that much power over him. 

He didn't cry when they punched or kicked him, he wouldn't cry in school and he wouldn't ever allow himself to cry in his room. (Although he was sure he'd loose the battle there) But he would restrain himself for as long as he could.

            He jumped a bit when the bell rang.

He began to hear the unmistakable sounds of children rushing by. Some were at the lockers near the boys bathroom door, all laughing and shouting. Someone hadn't done their homework and it was due in like five minutes. Others were complaining about a test they would have in their next period. Lots of lockers were banging shut. 

The bathroom door opened and closed noisily as boys, from freshman to seniors, from nerds to jocks, went in and out taking one last look at their reflection before heading off to class. 

            Todd raised his feet and prayed no one would knock on his door. He wasn't sure if his voice was still hoarse and didn't want to risk it. 

            Little by little, the overwhelming sounds of all the students began to subside. Everyone was heading out to their respective classes, leaving the hallways completely isolated. After a few minutes Todd thought it safe to leave the stall he was in and walk out into the rest of the bathroom. The first thing he saw was the mirror, he quickly looked away.

~~ Not yet… not yet… ~~ he thought he'd wash first; before he got a good look at his dirty, bloody face. 

            After a few splashes of water, which he gently dried with his shirt, he still didn't think he wanted to take a look in the mirror. He began to walk up and down the bathroom for a few minutes, and again he began to think.

~~ Why do these things always happen to me?… No one ever picks on Freddy. Well, who would be that stupid? Most of them even leave Pietro alone, but then again he's very fast and popular, … a charmer, really. Sweet-talks his way out of anything. I've sometimes tried to sweet talk my way out of trouble, but I've found out that sweet talking has very little to do with what you say, instead it's all about how you look when you say it. Pietro flashes a smile and he need only raise a finger for his will to be done. 

Tough luck on my part I have to be so scrawny and pathetic… And of course, no one ever bothers Lance…. The tough 'bad boy', always in control, 'such a leader' they say… 

They don't know who he really is… he has them all fooled.

I'm the one who has to live in a constant hell for the rest of my life and nobody gives me any credit.

Pietro just lives in his privileged little bubble where everything he does he only does for fun. 

Even Freddy, who I'm sure has gone through a lot of pranks and fat jokes, will always demand respect with the size he's got. 

And Lance… with his wise talk, his 'I'm older then you' attitude… 

… I hate him so much… ~~

            No sooner had he thought those last words, he began to remember all the times Lance had been kind to him. All the times Todd had whined that Pietro saw too much TV and 'big-brother' Lance would wrestle the remote from the white haired boy and give it to him. The times he thought Freddy had eaten the last of anything only to find that Lance had saved him some food in the fridge. The way Lance always asked about his homework, his grades, the way he'd offer to help if he had any problems… 

Todd began to remember those first few nights after Pietro had joined the Brotherhood. They were still getting used to live with each other and Pietro had been as self-centered and egotistical as ever. 

            He'd be very mean to everyone and he'd wreck everything he was told he couldn't have. Very much the spoiled child… But he didn't dare bother Lance, not this 'bad boy' that looked like he could snap Pietro in half if he wanted to. 

Todd could remember the way Lance would stand up for him. Making sure the white-haired boy didn't pick on the youngest among them. 

Even that early on he had been his little brother.

            Why were things different now? He was hurt, why couldn't he go to his older brother so he'd make things better? 

Why did he suddenly feel so alone...? 

He looked back on the sleepless nights he'd spent thinking about how great it was to finally have a family for himself… how he never had to be alone anymore… he had promised himself he'd never be alone again… so why did he feel that way now?

            Todd was standing in front of the mirror now, his eyes shut tight. His hands were placed on the wall on either side. He was alone now… he could look at himself… he was completely alone… not a sound in the hallway…

            He opened his right eye first… then slowly the black left one… he looked at himself for a few minutes… he remembered this… this bloody dirty face… he had seen it many times before but he was much younger then.

            He had hoped never to see it again… he had been so naïve to think that.

            His shoulders began to shake. He could take care of himself, he didn't need anyone. It was suddenly a little harder to breath. He had always been alone anyway, right? He was used to this… this was his everyday life… he was used to this! … Tears began to mix with the blood that still poured from his wound on the forehead. 

He felt so tired. He closed his eyes tight to stop the tears but that only seemed to make more come. He knelt on the floor, his hands still grasping the wall for support. Slowly he moved his head closer to the wall… slowly, until his forehead was touching the cool surface. He was sobbing freely now…

            He was glad he was alone… nobody should see him like this. He felt like such a baby, crying over nothing… he was tougher then that! … He was glad he was alone… 

            He was crying so hard now he could hardly breath… he turned himself into a little ball as he hugged his knees tight and continued sobbing. He felt cold and he felt alone and he was so exhausted that he didn't pull back as he felt someone pull him.

He suddenly felt a little warmer and in his mind he knew he wasn't quite that alone anymore, but he didn't stop crying. Instead, feeling those strong arms circle him made him cry even harder. He felt a hand on his head… it was gently caressing his hair and he continued to cry. He began to hear soothing words that he couldn't quite place, but he knew they were meant to sound reassuring.

Todd liked this… he liked to be held like this, especially when he was feeling so depressed. He stopped hugging his knees and raised his arms to hold on to the wide shoulders that were protecting him. He held tight, very tight… afraid whoever was with him would leave suddenly.

            The soothing voice was close to his ear now and he could hear the encouraging words better.

"I'm right here Todd… I'm not leaving you…" said Lance as he ran his hand up and down Todd's back in order to clam the small boy. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Todd: I just wanted you to know yo, that this is a fanfic…. Not real. I mean, this The Great Amazing Toad over here!… I do not cry yo!

Pietro: Cry baby!  ^_^

Todd: Take that back!

Pietro: _'take that baaaack!'_

Todd: Lance make him stop!

Pietro: _'Lance make him stoooooop!'_

Lance: v_v;;;

Alex: They're so cute at this age…..  =^_^=


	21. A Lovers Feud part 21

Oh my Gawd!!… I've gotten so many reviews for chapter 20! ^_^

I wanna thank everyone who has reviewed so far….

Showstopper = yeah, I hate Scott too… :P

EvOlUtIoN = Jean+Scott?… well, they're both so dull that.. yeah, why not. Lance+Rogue? (Todd: "She's MINE!") _ u heard the Toad… As for the play?…. according to my muse, it's apparently never going to come… v_v although I'm planning on getting to it eventually… *^_^*

RyanGosling4Ever = YEAH! Die Mallory! Die Evan!!  *Lance begins to strangle them* LANCE! STOP IT!…. (Lance: "but u said…")  Not yet… after the fic is over.  ^_^

S.R + C.S = ok, ok I'm updating… I'm updating, I'm updating, I'm updating, I'm updating, I'm updating, I'm updating, I'm updating, I'm updating, I'm updating, I'm updating, I'm updating, I'm updating… 

Todd: When will she stop?

Lance: I dunno…

Pietro: you think she needs help…?

*Lance thinks about strangling her too*

Todd & Pietro: LANCE! NO!

Lance: It was just a thought… v_v;;;

I know I haven't mentioned even half of my reviews… do not feel bad V_V;… these were the ones in my email… I wanna thank everyone! I love you! I love you! ^^

Pietro: *getting impatient*  When are we doing the chapter?!?!

Alex: I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!…

Lance, Todd & Pietro: Oh dear gawd…  O_o;;;

Alex: I love you!!!!  *takes deep breath*  Here we go!!  ^_^

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

Chapter 21 

            Just because she couldn't use the pictures anymore didn't mean she couldn't do other things to get what she wanted. Mallory was busy looking at herself in her locker's mirror. In just a few minutes the end-of-lunch bell would ring, making them all go back to their classrooms and wish they were dead. But today, the red-headed cheerleader had a plan.

"Are you sure we should do this Mal? I mean… fun as it is, I just don't feel like it…" said Jenny, another cheerleader friend of Mallory's as they talked in the hallway.

"Jenny! This isn't about what you want! This is about what needs to be done!… Now really, you'll enjoy watching what happens." Promised the curly haired girl as she kept glancing at her reflection.

"Alright…" said the other girl as she waited for her target.

            Both cheerleaders stayed in the middle of the hallway for a while but were soon being kept company by other jocks and cool people. Soon, Duncan Matthews made his appearance next to the girls, a happy smile on his face.

"So? What has you smiling so much?" asked Mallory not sparing him a glance.

"I met up with Jean, she had to leave to the library in a hurry… but still, I'm just glad I ran into her." Duncan kept smiling as Jenny and Mal made disgusted faces at him.

"Lovely… really nice love story… so, Duncan dear, did you actually do something more productive then meeting with that Junior?" Mallory was now looking directly at him expecting a hopeful answer.

"Sure did! Tolensky wont be walking straight for a few days now… that'll teach that Alvers to mind his own business." Duncan was now keeping busy playing with a football.

"Excellent!" Mallory was just smiles and joy.

            Jenny wasn't really paying attention to them anymore but she was alert when she suddenly saw her target moving.

"Hey Mal, there she is…" she said to her friend and immediately began to walk toward her.

***************************************

"Like, I know Kurt… what's happening between Rogue, Lance and Todd is like, awful. I mean, I sure wouldn't know like, what to do." Said the brown haired freshman as the two mutants made their way to their lockers before the crowd settled in.

"I know. Things don't look good for Todd though…" answered the blue mutant as he gently touched his head.

"Your head still hurt Kurt?" Kitty asked with a sweet smile.

"Yeah, trust me when I say: 'Never, ever start to pull on your hair in frustration.' It just hurts too much." Kurt thought perhaps next time he would actually try to study before he had another situation like this.

            Kitty laughed softly for her friend and briefly wondered how Pietro had done on the pop quiz himself. Her guess was 'not very good', but she knew Pietro would never actually say that. After a few more paces she suddenly stopped since she had reached her locker and began to work with her combination.

"Well, guess I'll see you after school Kitty. I better go and get my books." Said Kurt as he kept moving.

"Like, ok. Later Kurt." Kitty was busy now trying to take out her math and history books out. They were both rather heavy. 

            The hallways were beginning to fill with the students who didn't actually wait until the bell had rang to get their books and soon Kitty was bumping into some people.

"Like sorry about that….. Hey! Watch it!….. Like, I'm walking here too!" she said as she made her way to her classroom. Unfortunately the last person she bumper into was due to an accident.

"Oh, like my bad Jenny. Sorry about that." Said the blue eyed girl as she smiled at the cheerleader who was also starting in the play the next day.

"Don't worry about it Kitty… So, how are you?" Jenny asked as she moved her long blonde hair around.

"I'm like, fine. I guess I should feel like nervous, you know. I mean, we're like going to be acting tomorrow night in front of all those people. It's almost like, so unreal." Kitty smiled once again.

"Yeah, I'm kind of nervous too… but it'll pass once we're on stage… but umm…" Jenny began to look at her feet, not sure if she should continue.

"What? Is something wrong?" Kitty stopped for a while so Jenny would actually tell if anything was wrong.

"Well, I was just wondering… when did you and Maximoff break up?… I mean, we all thought the two of you were so happy, you know?" Jenny looked as Kitty's face was filled with confusion.

"Like, what are you talking about? Pietro and I haven't broken up… why are you asking?" Kitty began to nervously play with her pony tail.

"I saw Maximoff over with Mallory a few days ago… they looked very… well, you know. They looked like a couple. I just thought maybe the two of you broke up and he went back with Mal. I guess I was wrong… I'll see you later, kay? Bye." And with that Jenny kept walking leaving behind a very stunned looking Kitty Pryde. 

For her part, the freshman didn't actually care anymore who was bumping into her on the hallway. She was dimly aware of the bell as it rang loud and clear across the building.

**********************************************

            The things Pietro had to do to ensure a happy play for both himself and Kitty tomorrow surely had to land him a place in Heaven. 

~~ People should call me a hero! ~~ thought the white haired boy as he moved to the other, less crowded, side of the school. 

            His plan? Simple. He'll go back to Mystique's office and change the evaluation he had ruined for his teacher, Mr. Smith. Therefore hopefully avoiding any future quizzes and he'd come up with a better plan to keep his legal guardian busy on Friday.

            He had to wait until the bell had rung and Mystique was out on her usual after-lunch routes gathering 'evil child delinquents'. Then he'd sneak in through the window and work on his master plan, which right now was: ... 

~~ I have no idea! ~~ he replied to himself enthusiastically as he waited below the huge tree in which he remembered Todd had been resting on the first time he had sneaked into his Principal's office.

~~ Wonder what the little guy is doing now… ~~ he thought as he checked his nails in a very bored manner. 

            A few minutes later he heard as the bell rang loud and clear across the building. He placed himself in one of the higher branches of the tree and waited a few more minutes before using his speed to jump onto the ledge where the window stood. Once there he carefully glimpsed as Darkholme walked back and forth yelling at someone on the other end of her phone. He was sure glad it wasn't him.

**********************************************

"What do you mean I didn't have an appointment tomorrow?!… I wrote that I had one and that means I had one! You are so incompetent! I'm never having my hair done with you sorry excuse of a Beauty Salon again!!" Mystique took a few minutes to clam down before she left her office. 

            Any student she found outside of a classroom today was sure to pay dearly.

Her agenda showed she had both a beauty appointment and a visit from "The Boss" tomorrow. Of course she couldn't put Magneto on hold, which meant she had to cancel her appointment. Then she only found out those incompetent people hadn't even had her at all!

"Those idiots!" she was not happy at having a visit from the Master of Magnetism… or any other title the white haired man decided to hold for himself… she would probably have to cancel on going to that play that Maximoff was starting in. 

~~ Not that I mind that… ~~ she thought as she got ready to begin her customary routes.

*********************************************  

            Soon Pietro's patience paid off as he saw Mystique leave her office and head out into the school. Now was his chance at fixing the mess he had caused for himself for his right-before-lunch class.

"Ok, now I'll go in and she'll never know what happened!… Gosh I'm smart." The blue eyed boy would've continued to compliment himself but he was soon disturbed by the presence of another.

"Not so smart from where I'm standing Maximoff!" came the voice.

"AAH!… DANIELS!? What are you doing here?!" this was not part of his plan.

"I could ask you the same thing…" Evan, noticing how Pietro was heading the opposite direction in the hallway, was intrigued and decided to follow. Wait till he told Scott what he found. "I'm sure Mystique wouldn't be happy to find you here."

"Oh yeah? This is Mystique you're talking about! Sure, she's going to kill me and eat out my eyes! But she'll do much worse to you cause you're an X-geek!" said Pietro as he tried to open the window.

"What could be worse then eating out your eyes?!" asked Evan rather disgusted.

"Huh?…. oh, well…. She could eat out your eyes BEFORE she kills you!… HA!" that seemed about right…

"EEEWWW!" said Evan "Still, I'm not gonna let you get away with it!"

"With what?! You don't even know what I'm doing!" replied Pietro.

"Well… with whatever it is you're trying to do!" Evan began to get ready to jump from the tree to the ledge of the building.

            At that moment the window finally flew open and Pietro went in right as Evan jumped onto the ledge. Unfortunately for the young X-man before he could get a hold of the window Pietro had closed it right on his face and with nothing to hold on to Evan fell off and landed hard on the ground.

"Hey man… you ok, right?" asked the blue eyed boy from the window as he looked down.

"Ouch!… oh yeah Maximoff… I'm just great…" said Evan rather sarcastically.

"Oh… well good then! HA!" Pietro closed the window once again.

************************************************

            Scott Summers was thru playing games. He was going to go through with his plans and this time nothing Alvers did would get in his way. He just couldn't believe he hadn't thought of this sooner. All he had to do was get some embarrassing pictures of Lance and blackmail him back. He sure had to hand it to Jean, she thought of everything.

            Now, he was sure the Professor wouldn't be too happy with him cutting class … but it was a small sacrifice. After all, he was looking out for the well being of one of his teammates.

"Now… where are you Mr. Alvers? I need to find you right when something really disgraceful happens… I'm sure you're not in class, oh no…. not you…. You're probably off somewhere having fun, without a care in the world… Wait till I find you, I'm going to change all that for you Lance."

            Scott suddenly stopped talking to himself when he noticed all the other students in the photography club were giving him odd looks and moving far, far away from him.

"Oh… I was just… I… oh, never mind." He said as he took the borrowed camera and headed out on his hunt for the notorious Mr. Alvers.

*************************************************

"I'm right here Todd… I'm not leaving you…" said Lance as he ran his hand up and down Todd's back in order to clam the small boy.

            Funny, not too long ago his biggest worry was that he was going to be late for yet another class. He didn't like it when that happened… how was he supposed to scold the others for being late if he was always late himself? Still, it never would've happened if Pietro hadn't decided to search through his backpack for some mysterious candy bar that, unknown to Pietro, Freddy had already eaten. 

            If that annoying speed-freak didn't have the custom of taking everything out of the frigging bag he wouldn't have been late… then he wouldn't have had to go to the bathroom right after everyone was gone… and he wouldn't have found Todd…

            Lance Alvers had seen many things in his life… now, he wasn't going to tell you he was an expert on anything or that he was wise or smart… he knew that with only 17 years of age he hardly had enough experience to qualify him for anything. Nevertheless, out of all the things Lance had ever seen in his life, this moment… this one tiny moment… when he opened the door to the bathroom and found his little brother crying, bundled up in a corner allowing his sobs to run free… he knew he'd never find a sadder moment.

            All he wanted was for Todd to be alright. He kept his hand moving over the boy's hair and back, soothing him as he kept crying. He suddenly felt very tired… he wanted to rest his head on Todd's shoulder and cry too… but he knew he couldn't do that… he had to take care of his brother first… he had to know how this happened… who did this?…

"Todd?… Let's take you to the infirmary, ok? You'll be better there." Lance began to move him but the boy stubbornly refused to budge. "They'll take care of you."  

"No." Todd said in a tired yet firm voice which made Lance glad. At least he wasn't that broken down if he could fight him for that.

"Do you want to go home? I'll take you." Right now Lance wasn't thinking about anything other then Todd's comfort.

            The other boy remained quiet for some time. He had stopped shaking and his crying had diminished, but still remained close to Lance. After a few moments of silence Todd had apparently remembered he was supposed to be mad at the other boy. He angrily pushed him away, causing Lance to stare at him in shock. 

"This is all your fault." He said in barely a whisper.

"Todd… I'm… I'm sorry…" the older boy didn't know what to say.

"You caused this." The green-eyed boy almost thought he'd start to cry again but decided to focus his energy on his anger. "You had to go and make Duncan made at you and now…"

"_He_ did this?!" Lance needed to know before he did anything else.

"That's not important!" Todd stood up and looked down at his oldest housemate. "All you do is make me miserable! And I hate you for it!" 

            Lance remained completely still on the floor as he heard rather then felt Todd's greatest punch. The young freshman had then begun to let out his anger with his fists making actual contact with the senior boy only once. After that Lance had grabbed Todd by the wrists and had stopped him from causing any more damage. 

            Todd knew there was no way he could beat Lance in a fight, but that didn't stop him from trying. Since he couldn't punch he then began to kick and scream causing so much noise that it would've been a miracle if nobody came to see what was going on. So it came as no surprise when the bathroom door flung open to reveal a very angry Principal.

"WHAT is going on here?!?!" came Mystique's voice.

*************************************************************          

            Using his spikes Evan began to form a ladder on the building in order to reach the window leading to Darkholme's office. If he only knew what Pietro was up to then maybe he could stop him! 

            As he approached the window he could see Pietro was busy in Mystique's computer. 

~~ Probably some new mutant files! The Professor needs to know about this! ~~ thought Evan as he tried to open the window… which was locked.

"Oh Damn it!" he said as he found himself locked outside.

"Hey… what ya doing?" asked a cheerful Pietro.

"Let me in." the ledge of a building wasn't a nice place.

"No way." 

"Come on. Let me in."

"Why would I do a stupid thing like that?" asked Pietro as he again looked over his nails.

"You don't want me to fall and break my neck would you?" asked Evan hopefully.

"Actually, that's exactly what I want. Why are you here? I didn't invite you!" Pietro was growing impatient with his nemesis. He had yet to find Mr. Smith's evaluation and he had no idea what to do to keep Mystique busy on Friday.

"I'm going to stop whatever illegal thing you're planning on doing!" answered Evan as he continued to hold on.

"Ok… that's it!… you didn't pass the entrance exam! Goodbye!" said the white haired boy as he grabbed the curtains on either side of the window and closed them.

"Hey, wait a minute…." Was all Evan said before he found himself with absolutely no visibility into the office. "Oh… no way he's leaving me out here."

            Pietro didn't have much time. Soon Mystique would be coming back with a handful of child delinquents and he surely wasn't meant to be seen there.

~~ If I were a teachers evaluation, where would I be?… probably crumbled up on the floor cause that's where I keep all my papers… No, no! Where would _Mystique_ put a teachers evaluation?… Nope, I'm still guessing the floor… this isn't working… ~~

            After a while he figured that whatever the evaluation said had probably been passed onto the computer files. So now he was busy looking through Mr. Smith's records at the school.

"Oh my God! That man is _married_!?… I pity his children…" after a few more minutes of this he finally found what he was looking for.

"AHA!… now, all I have to do is turn him into the best teacher this school has ever seen… The art of my craft lays not in lying, but in lying well so as to make it believable…" with this said Pietro Maximoff began his work.

************************************************* 

            She needed to get away… if she had to see her face one more time she swore she would kill herself… but she refused to give in to ideas of suicide the day before her great play!

            Claudia had been trying to concentrate in class but her dear, dear, dear friend Jenny (pushed by Mallory, no doubt) kept insisting that she relinquish her notes. After she had refused it had simply gotten to a point where she was sure she'd scream if she heard Jenny's voice again. So the black haired play-god decided to ask her teacher for a hall-pass and escape the endless asking. Unfortunately, Jenny asked for one right after her and Claudia now felt persecuted.

"Can't she go away?!" wondered the young director out loud. 

"Come on Claudia! We really need those notes for the tests…" came the horrifying voice.

"AAH!" Claudia ran.

************************************************* 

            Usually history class was fun for her… well, usually any class was fun for her. But right now Kitty's semi-perfect life was somewhat disturbed.

~~ She like, probably saw some one else… yeah, like there's millions of guys with like, white hair around… ok, never mind that. ~~ She was supposed to be taking notes right now.

~~ Ok. There's only one way to do this. I'm going to ask Lance… I mean, I already know I can't ask Todd, he'll like say he doesn't know and like tell me Pietro will talk to me when he's ready… like, what kind of an answer is that?! ~~

            Kitty didn't want to believe it… she just couldn't believe that her Pietro was actually seeing that sorry excuse for a cheerleader…

~~ But he like, never told me what was wrong… ~~ she thought. 

~~ He never told me… ~~

*****************************************

            Both boys turned around nervously as they heard the angry voice of the current person who was legally allowed to ground them. Lance immediately let go of Todd's wrists and the younger boy quickly took a few steps away from the brown haired boy.

"I'll ask again, WHAT is going on here?" for her part Mystique didn't know what to do… she had just found young Tolensky fighting off what looked like a very calm Lance.

            She couldn't believe that Mr. Alvers had been fighting with the small freshman, she knew for a fact he protected him dearly… so why had she just seen such a scene? Why was Tolensky so upset?… and why was he so beaten up?!

"Mr. Tolensky…" Mystique could see Todd cringe as the attention was drawn to him. "Who did that to you?" 

"HE caused it!" Todd pointed all the blame toward Lance and the older boy made no move to correct the misunderstanding.

Mystique stared, wide-eyed, at her oldest recruit. Had he really done this?! She had believed Lance so mature and definitely more responsible then to let out his anger in such a violent way… specially directed toward a much smaller child who was more like a little brother. 

She looked at the green eyed boy once more and noticed he was almost on the edge of tears. She quickly dismissed him.

"Todd…" the first time, she believed, that she had called him by his first name. "Go to the infirmary room and stay there the rest of the afternoon. I'll drive you later back to the house."

            Todd didn't say anything, he simply began to take slow steps toward the door. He made sure to leave plenty of room between himself and his guardian as he neared the exit… well, as much space as he could considering the dimensions of the room. 

            Once the young freshman was gone Mystique turned her full attention to her troublesome senior.

"Mr. Alvers, I surely hope you aren't responsible for the beating Mr. Tolensky was displaying." She just didn't want to think of such a thing.

"Of course not." Replied Lance in a quiet voice as he continued to look down at the floor.

            Mystique inwardly sighed… it was such a relief to know Lance wouldn't do something like that.

"Well then, care to explain why Mr. Tolensky seems to blame you for it?" she waited for a while as Lance simply continued to stare at noting in particular. Just as she was about to loose her patience though, he answered.

"What I gathered… was that Duncan was mad at me… and he… he took it out on Todd… so he, he blames me for it I guess…" if she didn't know any better she would've guessed her tough senior was also close to tears.

"You guess?" she asked, hoping to snap him out of his aimless depression.

            Lance looked up at her in that moment. 

~~ Surely she isn't doubting me? … Does she actually think I would do such a thing to Todd?! ~~ 

"I know." He said in a clearer, more stable voice. "He blames me for it but you know I didn't hit him… I would never hit him."

"Well… if what you say is true…" she could see him turning red with anger for doubting him. "Then I must forbid you to seek out Mr. Matthews. We can't have any more senseless fighting in this school."

"Yes ma'am." The brown haired senior was of course planning on doing the complete opposite.

"Now, even though Duncan happens to be in the football field right now." She raised an eyebrow at her recruit. "You simply must keep away."

"Yeah… yes ma'am!" he couldn't believe she was helping him on this.

"Well then Mr. Alvers… off you go. I'm sure you have some class you're flunking to go back to." Mystique turned slightly to allow Lance through the door. "And from now on… perhaps we should start meeting in a less… 'untraditional' room?" she added as they both walked away.

"But bathrooms are so cozy Ms. Darkholme." He said as he began his way toward the football field.

"Good day Mr. Alvers…" was all she said as she continued on her merry way to find some other child delinquents to drag back to detention.

************************************************

Sorry it took me a while for this update…. ^^;;;

Alex: I will love you all even more if you review!! I will love you forever and ever, and ever…

Lance: MAKE HER STOP!!!

Todd: Please yo! What ever you want! Just make her stop!!!

Pietro: *calmly sitting on the couch wearing cotton balls in his ears while reading a magazine*   -_-

Alex: and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever…

Lance & Todd:  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

Pietro: Will you keep it down… I'm trying to read. *takes cotton balls out*

Alex: and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever…

Pietro:  AAAAAHH!!  *quickly puts cotton balls back in*  I thought she was finished… my bad… *continues reading*


	22. A Lovers Feud part 22

A Lovers Feud

By: Alex Destine

Chapter 22

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He was growing just a tad bit tired of standing outside. It wasn't comfortable, he could tell you that. He had been trying for around ten minutes to open the window but it seemed the only way in was breaking it. He wasn't looking forward to it.

"Damn it Maximoff! Let me in! Let me in!" somehow he doubted he would actually be allowed in.

_ Is that idiot still out there?! _ thought Pietro as he sat playing Solitary on Mystique's computer. (It helped him think...) He decided to check on the stupid boy once more.

"Haven't you broken your neck yet?" Pietro's voice sounded muffled by the closed window.

"Let me in Pietro!" Evan would've added a 'please' to it, but pride wouldn't allow such a thing.

"You keep saying that yet I just don't see it happening... just climb back down and be off to fight the evils of the world."

"You ARE the evil of the world!" Evan was sure that wouldn't let him in.

"You wound me Evan... after we shared our childhood together and everything... I mean, I know I haven't been the best friend to you all the time but... but really! 'The evil of the world' isn't that a bit much?... And here I thought that with Kitty and me together now maybe you and I could be friends..." Pietro lowered his head and sighed in pure sadness.

"So... does that mean you'll open the window?" Evan asked hopefully.

"No WAY! You aren't worthy of having such a good friend like me... you're going to have to work pretty hard on your attitude mister if you wish to change that and right now I don't think you're open enough... so go away and maybe... much later I might lighten your day by actually talking to you..." Once again Pietro closed the drapes behind him.

It took Evan a few minutes to register he was still outside on the very uncomfortable ledge while the white haired demon remained inside doing....

Whatever it was he was doing.

"Let me in! Let me in!" he began to scream at the closed window. "Fine Maximoff! Have it your way!" Using one of his spikes Evan broke a small section of the window, enough for him to unlock it from the outside.

"HA!" said Evan triumphantly as he encountered the blue eyed boy who was leaning against the desk.

"Oh yeah Daniels! Congratulations on your first 'breaking and entering'. I'm sure the Professor will be proud." Pietro sure wasn't taking the blame for the broken window.

"Now tell me what you're doing Maximoff!" screamed the righteous boy.

"God! Lower your voice! There are people out there... and if you're so curious, then look for yourself..." Pietro signaled toward the computer screen which now held a half finished game of Solitary.

"You didn't do all this just to play that stupid game!"

"Well, unlike you, we don't have a computer in our house so maybe I came here to tick Mystique enough to get us one... you being here? Well, guess that's a bonus." Pietro was having fun.

"No way! You did something evil on that computer!"

"Well, I did change your grades... but that's not 'evil' now, is it?" he looked all-innocent.

"What?!"

"Get ready for when your aunt calls you to talk about those D's and F's Daniels... really! I'm sure they expected better from you..."

After that the chase began.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

She was running. Fear had penetrated every muscle in her body andd she moved as fast as possible to escape. Still, no matter where she turned or how well she was hiding she could always hear the traumatic steps... getting closer... and closer... and closer...

"Oooooh Claudia... Claaaaaaudia... the notes... Give them to meeeeeee..."

_ Oh JESUS CHRIST!!_ thought the black haired girl as she remained very still inside the janitors closet where she had been the past 15 minutes.

Slowly she opened the door to take a look outside into the deserted hallway.

She didn't know what was worse, seeing how isolated everything was or actually seeing Jenny.

She began to move to the end of the hallway, carefully listening to any sound that might give the annoying blonde cheerleader away.

She peeked her head out from behind a couple of lockers and was relieved to see the connecting hallway also deserted... until a door opened.

"Claudia!... which bathroom did you decide to go to?! Honestly!" Jenny was coming out of the girls' bathroom with a lost expression on her face.

Quickly Claudia began to run in the opposite direction.

"I'm not getting caught by the likes of her!" she was turning now toward the other hallway, not really caring where she was going as long as it was 'away'.

Unfortunately she had to stop since something... made her stop.

"OUCH!" she said

"Hey! Watch it yo!" said the sandy haired boy as he picked himself off the floor. "I just came from the infirmary, I don't need to go back there."

"You have to help me!" cried Claudia as she grabbed onto Todd's shirt. "I have this wacko after me and I need to get away!"

"This school is full of wackos, you're gonna have to narrow it down." Todd began to absentmindedly brush himself off until he felt the girls grip move from his shirt to his arm, from where she pulled him to the corner of the hallway.

"You see that?" Claudia was pointing toward the other end of the hallway, which now had a clueless Jenny roaming about.

"Yeah, that's C-03." said Todd matter-of-factly.

"Huh?"

"Cheerleader – 03.... You're C-06 if I'm not mistaken..."

"You categorized us?"

"Better to keep track who to run away from when jocks get ideas..." Todd eyed the black haired cheerleader suspiciously. "This is some sort of prank... look, I've had enough of you people for one life time, let alone for one day. I'm outta here yo."

"NO!... you don't understand, she wont leave me alone!" Claudia was desperately holding on to Todd's arm now. "Make her go away!"

"Claudia?... is that you?..." Jenny had been hearing voices on the other end of the hallway and was making her way there.

Once she reached the end of the lockers she then moved her head slowly, peeking around to see what was going on. And that's when she saw... nothing.

_ There's nothing here..._ she thought as she turned around and made her way back to her classroom. _What a waste of time_...

"What?.... How... how did we?... I mean... what?" Claudia was speechless. Something Pietro and Kitty would've liked to see.

"Umm... you ok?" asked Todd as he looked around to see if Jenny had indeed gone away.

"We were... there." She pointed to the ground. "Now we're ... here?" she signaled to the top of the lockers, which was where they were standing on right this minute.

"Umm, adrenaline? ... yeah, yeah... that stuff will make you do anything! Boy, you sure jumped good!" Todd was beginning to sweat a little.

"But I didn't jump..."

"See? You're such a great jumper you hardly noticed... so... you wanna get down?"

Todd helped the black haired girl down the lockers and watched as she carefully moved to check the hallway.

"Is she gone?" Claudia asked.

"Yeah... why were you running away from her?" Todd was slightly curious.

"Cause her insistent nagging is enough to drive you mad!"

"Oh! ... Kinda like Pietro?" said Todd cheerfully since he understood the concept.

"EXACTLY like Pietro!"

"Oh...ok." The green-eyed boy could not blame her.

Claudia gave a sigh of relief as she leaned back against the lockers.

"Thanks a lot Tolensky." She said as she smiled at the younger boy.

"Sure, no problem yo... guess you should leave now, right? You're probably missing class."

"What?! Back where C-03 can find me? I don't think so... I guess I'll just have to keep myself busy." Of course, Claudia had enough to do, so she wasn't exactly going to be bored. "Where are you going?"

"As long as it's far away from Duncan, I'll be happy." replied Todd as he stared at his shoes.

It seemed for the first time Claudia noticed the bruises on Todd's face and arms, and the swelling and cuts. She felt awful for allowing a simple annoyance like Jenny take up her whole mind while others so clearly had a rougher time of things.

"Duncan... did this to you?" she asked.

"Most jocks and cheerleaders have that hobby..." the younger boy looked up. "You don't join in that stuff though."

"I don't think that's right, much less fun." Claudia re-adjusted her small backpack and decided that, for once, she might actually enjoy a bit of help with her things.

"So... are you good with computers?"

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

_ Not one single student... not one!_ Darkholme was beginning to get upset. _And here I thought I'd be enjoying my afternoon giving detentions..._

In all truth she actually needed the stress relief. According to her agenda tomorrow she would be meeting with Magneto ... she always needed a couple of extra Tylenols before and after talking to that man.

_Probably wants a status report... as if he doesn't know what's going on already! He spies on us all the time. Maybe this time he'll actually ask how Maximoff is handling himself. He just drags the kid into my not-so-waiting arms. _

She was walking by the same corridor for the third time now and was beginning to hate it. Aside from Magneto she also had to think about what to do with the current situation between Mr. Alvers and Mr. Tolensky. She hoped they could keep it toned down for a while... at least until after Magneto had left.

_Lance better be handling Mr. Matthews or else he's getting grounded_. she thought as she remembered the way Todd had been. She wasn't what people would call 'compassionate', but she wasn't going to allow a bully like Duncan to harm one of her recruits.

Suddenly a silver lining came through the dark clouds of her afternoon.

Darkholme watched as the innocent looking girl kept moving around the hallway, completely unaware of the hunting Principal she was going to meet.

"Hello there Jenny." Said Darkholme in a sweet, yet somehow scary voice.

"AH!.... Ms. Darkholme... hi.... I HAVE A PASS!"

"Let's see it then..."

Jenny began to search her pockets; soon she gave up on those and began to search her small bag... later she also gave up on that and returned to look in her pockets.

"Um... I seem to have dropped it somewhere... maybe it's in the bathroom?" the young girl said hopefully.

"Well, it shouldn't be there Jenny, now should it?"

"No Ms. Darkholme."

"You know what that means?" Mystique was enjoying this... oh yes, she was.

"But I had a pass! You can ask Claudia!"

"That's right!... you're coming to my office." smiled the evil Principal ignoring what Jenny had said completely.

At least Mystique finally had her detention-victim safely with her. All she had to do was head to her office and start the fun.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"You can't catch me! You can't catch me!" sang along a happy Pietro as he continued to run from one corner to the next in 0.5 seconds.

"Come on Pietro! No fair! Go fix my grades!" Evan wasn't happy with D's and F's... and he was showing his anger.

"Well since you ask so nicely." answered the white haired boy as he stuck out his tongue at the other boy.

"Mystique's going to be here any minute and you're here goofing off!" Evan tried shooting a couple of spikes on the floor to stop Pietro but the sophomore simply jumped over them and kept on running.

"You have to say please!" said Pietro as he now sat comfortably on Mystique's chair.

"Go fix them now!" a couple of more spikes were thrown and soon landed on the back of the chair.

"Ouch... she's not gonna like that." Commented Pietro as he was now standing next to Evan. "That's an expensive chair too, hope you can cover it."

"Well you caused this!" was all Evan could say.

"Well no one invited you here! ... and please stop whining about your grades. I didn't really change them, you know." Pietro was now taking out the spikes from the chair and handing them back to the other boy who was looking rather sour.

"Why do you torment me so?." Evan took his spikes back and stared at the mess in which they had left the office.

"Cause it's fun to tease, duh!" Pietro was now leaning against the door thinking of what he should do next.

He still needed to find some way of making sure Mystique didn't come to the play tomorrow but he was terribly out of ideas for that.

_Oh, I'll just wait until the last minute to do something about that... after all, I work better with a challenge_. So with this charming thought and Mr. Smith's evaluation fixed, he could leave the office with a clear conscious.

"I'm bored... let's get out of here." He said casually as he began to move toward the window. However, a sharp scream made him stop.

"What is going on here!!" came the voice of Principal Darkholme from the other side of the door as she entered the general office.

"She's back! She's back! What do we do?!" asked Evan as he grabbed Pietro for answers.

"I don't know! Leave maybe!"

"But this mess..."

"I'm sure she won't mind it, don't worry. Now let's go!" Both boys ran, one faster then the other, to the window.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ms. Darkholme was now very upset with her incompetent secretary who couldn't stop making messes. Did she have to be in that office all the time or else the entire school would go to Hell?!

"Why can't I leave in peace for just one minute!?" she screamed at the nervous secretary.

"But ma'am... it's not my fault the coffee maker blew up all over the documents..." the smaller woman tried to defend herself but by the look she was getting she realized she would have to take the blame for such an accident.

_Why can't I have an intelligent staff?!_ Mystique briefly wondered as she unlocked the door to her office.

"Ma'am, I really did have a hall pass... May I leave now?" asked a hopeful Jenny.

"No. You're getting detention, that way you'll remember to _keep_ your hall pass next time." Mystique unlocked the door and stepped right in.

Then quickly closed the door and stepped right out. Her face a ghostly white.

"Ms. Darkholme... are you alright?" asked her secretary as she took in the frightful face.

Mystique opened the door once more and, with some difficulty, took a longer look inside.

Papers were on the floor, all with various degrees of holes in them. Some of her decorative pillows were also on the floor, along with some of its stuffing right beside it. The couch itself had some of the stuffing out as well... and her favorite chair had three holes in the back.

Someone was going to pay dearly for this...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Come on Daniels! Move!" Pietro was standing on the ledge of the building once again waiting as Evan climbed down the spike-made stairs on the wall.

"Who said you were climbing down this way?!... find your own way down." Said the dark skinned boy as he began to take out the spikes he had already used.

"Hey! Don't! I need those!" Pietro began to push the spikes back into the wall just as Evan was trying to pull them off.

However, between all those struggles they didn't notice as some of Evan's spikes were beginning to grow from his arms. In one brusque movement, just as Evan was pulling, he allowed his arm to drop which had the effect of making the newly made spikes launch from his arm... and break the window below them.

"Oops..." said Evan hoping no one was at the receiving end of that.

At the same time Pietro, though he'd never admit it, lost his balance and landed right on top of Evan, who lost his grip on the ladder spikes making both boys fall hard on the ground.

"Ouch... my head..." cried out the white haired boy as he gently touched his head.

"Your head?... what about my ass! That's what hit the ground first, you know..."

Evan was going to set down priorities here.

"Well, maybe your ASS wouldn't have gotten hurt if you hadn't been greedy with the ladder Daniels... and another thing... OUCH!" Evan had pushed Pietro off of him rather harshly. "Watch it!"

"You watch it! You were still on top of me!" both boys tried to get to their feet only to find a head looking down on them.

"Heehee... Hi Scott..." said an embarrassed Evan.

"Hey Shades... Lance isn't anywhere near there, is he?" Pietro smiled sweetly.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He had been running around the entire school for almost an hour. Lance Alvers had to be somewhere! He wasn't in any of his classes or with any of his teachers, his car was still parked outside so Scott knew he wasn't skipping too far off. But still, try as he might, he couldn't find the leader of the Brotherhood.

_The one day I'm actually looking for him_... thought the senior X-man as he held tight to his borrowed camera.

His plan to counter-attack Lance's pictures of Freddy and Mallory was still strong... it would just be stronger when he actually had the counter-attack pictures of Lance.

_Might as well rest here for a while_... he thought as he leaned over a fountain and drank.

Most of the afternoon classes were almost gone and he needed to find the other senior alone. It would be much more difficult to catch Lance in some embarrassing moment if the other boy had his guard up around other people.

_If I were Alvers, where would I be?... that never helps, why do I keep asking myself such stupid questions when they don't work?!... _he thought as he leaned against some lockers. _So,.... If I were Lance, where would I be?_

He thought he had better continue on his journey or else he risked having an unpleasant encounter with Principal Darkholme when she was in one of her 'detention-happy' moods.

As he was moving away he heard the sound of breaking glass and suddenly felt something fly by him. He noticed that what flew by him was strong enough to hit locker doors and pass through them.

"WHAT THE...?!?!" screamed Scott as he stumbled backward and away from the broken locker that could've been his head.

He realized it was a spike... one he knew all too well. He then heard a loud 'thud' sound coming from outside and figured that was probably where he'd find his younger teammate.

"Ouch... my head..."

_ That's Pietro_ thought Scott as he moved toward the voices.

"Your head?... what about my ass! That's what hit the ground first, you know..."

_ And there's Evan_... he couldn't believe he was skipping... he was going to get it for this.

Scott peered through the broken window and looked down at the children.

"Heehee... Hi Scott..." said an embarrassed Evan.

"Hey Shades... Lance isn't anywhere near there, is he?" Pietro smiled sweetly.

"I wish..." the older X-man said under his breath.

"What?" asked Pietro as he stood up.

"Nothing... and just what are the two of you doing outside the school instead of inside a classroom?" Scott folded his arms as he waited for an explanation.

"I don't have to answer that! You're not my daddy! You're not my boss! I do as I please! I'm not afraid of anything or anyone! I don't care if I'm skipping! I can do as I want!... Oh GOD! Move Summers before Darkholme sees me!!! ..." Pietro immediately ran through the window and was now standing in the middle of the hallway while Scott helped Evan through.

"Not afraid of anyone Maximoff?..." asked Evan as he brushed himself off.

"Shut up Daniels!" the white haired boy then realized he was in an empty hallway with both Summers and Daniels...

_They could kill me and no one would even know! Then they would probably stuff me in a locker and Lance would be able to find me by the smell_! thought Pietro as he began to back away.

"Gee, look at the time... I have a couple of classes to get to... see ya!" he said and was quickly gone.

"What's up with him?" asked Scott as he watched Pietro run away.

"Beats me... but I know he was doing something back in Mystique's office."

"You followed Pietro all the way to Mystique's office?!" asked an exasperated Scott.

"...Yeah?..." the dark skinned boy wished he had Pietro's power at that moment.

"I can't believe you did something so irresponsible! And you're skipping classes to do these kind of things?! The Professor is going to find out, you know."

"Hey Scott, why are you here?" Evan asked.

"Um... I'm... I'm supposed to be here! I was sent by a teacher to get something."

"Well, it's very irresponsible of you to be here talking to me while your teacher is waiting, you know."

Scott gave him 'the look'.

"Ok ok! I'm going... chill out dude." And now Evan was on his merry way back to his class.

Scott stood there for a few seconds and wondered what he would do now.

_ Guess I'll go outside and get some fresh air... maybe I'll come up with something_. he thought as he made his way to the back of the school.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lance Alvers had spent the last hour sitting on the bleachers, which overlooked the football field, watching as the team went through their daily practice. Someone who didn't know Lance might think he was simply a fan of the sport.

Upon closer inspection, you could see the brown haired boy was holding a plastic bag filled with clothes. Not his, of course, they were much too preppy for his tastes.

As he sat there he had had plenty of time to think and to, most importantly, build up his anger. He was angry for what had been done to Todd... he was nothing but a little boy and to have been bullied like that by that jock was something that wasn't going to slide by.

But he was angry for other things too... he was angry at Scott for always pestering him, he was mostly angry at himself for having allowed Summer's 'picture plan' to reach the level that it had. He felt like such a traitor when he remembered how trusting Pietro had been that he would fix this problem... and indeed he had fixed it, but it didn't take away the guilt.

He was angry that he couldn't have one moment of peace. If bills weren't so far behind because Mystique hadn't paid them, then they were almost out of food because Freddy had eaten it all. Or if Pietro hasn't yet burned something around the house then Todd had decided to blow up the TV trying to 'fix' it.

After he realized that Pietro and Kitty deserved to be together he began to see things in a different way. If Pietro could be happy with non-other then an X-man then surely he could do the same... although his idea was more acceptable since

Rogue had been a Brotherhood member first. He had thought he could be happy... but these things never worked out for him.

Yes, Lance Alvers was angry with a lot of things, and today he was going to let some of that anger out.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Authors note:

Hello.

Wow! I can't believe the reviews.... I haven't checked these pages in a while... (can you tell?) I just can't believe so many people like my story.... I mean, I knew I got a lot of reviews but I never expected all this specially after more than a year of no updates...

Wow!... that's all I can say cause I'm speechless.... Wow! Thank you.

So, OK! I'm gonna re-read everything I've written so far and I'm gonna get my X-men: Evolution Mojo thing going here. I need some time cause school is in the way... but know that I'm out there.... this time conscious... and that I'm thinking like Pietro.

Though that has never proven to be healthy. ;P

Now, some more comments: (please don't feel bad if you've updated and I haven't named you. I LOVE YOU ALL!!! HUGGIES FOR ALL MY REVIWERS!!!)

Gokusgirl "U SADISTIC CHILD!" I laughed so hard when I read that!! I know I am... I'm sorry special huggies your way

X-Girl I'm a posting! I'm a posting!! Thanks for your reviews hon!

Jen123 Kitty does say 'like' a lot... I'll look into it...

Xcoolcomic "Keep writing you are almost done :) kinda sorta ;)" No, you just say that to make me feel better ;P Everyone knows the day before the play has been the longest in history... in fact it has 48 hours at least all into itself.

mILIE "I Love ur sarcastic humor i don't know why but i find that a very cool quaility in a writer and a person"

AAAAHHHH!!! . huggies

Bitrona "I LOVE THIS STORY CAUSE U FOCUS ON THE BROTHERHOOD AND I LOVE THE BROTHERHOOD AND I LOVE PIETRO"

Well me too!!!! I'm working on it! I'm working on it!!

Flamekiller Those are a lot of 'evers' man....... You top those with ice cream and I'm yours! (in a fanfiction sort of way ;P)

And I'm stopping here! Don't feel bad! I love you all!!! I'll be in the re-reading process right now... excuse me. later!

Love,

AlexDestine


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